Ice Station Continued
by leafsfan
Summary: This is a continuation of Ice Station by Matthew Reilly. I've included background info, so you won't have to have read the book. Explosions off Chile and strange events in Antarctica cause Marines to investigate. Some language and violence, romance.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters Shane "Scarecrow" Schofield, Libby "Fox" Gant, Rebound Simmons, Mother Newman, Andrew "Hawk" Trent, Jack Walsh, Sean Barnes, or Waylon J. Riggs. The rest of the characters were made up by moi and I must say that they are pretty cool.

Author's Note: This story is just my continuation of the book Ice Station by Matthew Reilly. Too bad he basically already made a sequel, but I've been working on this since April 2001 and he just came out with his sequel, so whatever… Hope you enjoy it (if you read it)

Background Info: This is just for those of you who haven't read Ice Station.

Shane Schofield, Libby Gant, Rebound Simmons and Mother Newman were in a unit that was sent to a remote ice station called Wilkes (I make some references to it) in Antarctica to check out a so-called spaceship. But they were attacked by the SAS, French commandos and their own teammates (who were part of an organization called the ICG- I make some references to that too). Out of twelve men and women, those four (Schofield, Gant, Rebound and Mother) were the only ones who made it out alive.

Schofield was a pilot before becoming a Marine. He has scars running vertically down each eye and eyelid as a result of a mission to Bosnia. He wears sunglasses all the time to hide them.

Andrew Trent was on a mission in Peru where his team discovered something. The double-agents in his team (ICG members) killed everyone to insure secrecy, but Andrew Trent survived. (Some of the italics later on are direct quotes from that mission described in Ice Station).

Libby Gant is sometimes called "Dorothy" because she has feelings for Schofield, nicknamed "Scarecrow". Another Marine in Ice Station said she was called this because "everyone knows Dorothy liked the Scarecrow the best."

I think that's all you really need to know. If you have any questions, just ask.

A single flare shot up into the sky.

"Sir, we've located the missing scientists." A young naval officer stood at attention in front of the captain. "We've just sent up a flare to receive air support."

Captain Sean M. Barnes, a paunchy gray-haired man, had been promoted only days earlier when the previous captain had gone missing during a diving mission.

"Air support?" He sneered. "Why do we need air support? It's a search and rescue mission, Lowe; we don't need to get the fucking USAF off their asses for a simple in-and-out deal. Call them off."

Officer Lowe, having entered the navy two years ago while he was nineteen, had figured out pretty quickly that contradicting a higher ranking officer was not a good idea. One guy in his crew, only eighteen at the time, right out of high school, had questioned the authority of one of his officers. He was locked in the head for five hours, then forced to sit in the engine room until he lost his hearing for two days. Yeah, Lowe had definitely learned his lesson. "Sir, yes, sir!" He saluted, and then returned to the radio control room.

At twenty-one, James Lowe was 6"2 with blond-brown hair. He had a small mouth that was usually set in a wide smile and his eyes were piercing blue. His upper lip had a small scar running vertically through it; an accident with a knife when he was a young boy was his explanation. He stood beside Lieutenant Commander J.C. Sanchez, the radio operator. "Captain says to call them off."

Sanchez looked up at Lowe. He looked up because he was only 5"6, a full 8 inches shorter than Lowe. "Shit, man! I got a bad feeling about this." He switched on the radio. "Calling all USAF pilots. This is _Constitution_ of the U.S. Navy. We no longer require assistance. Do you copy? Over."

A voice crackled in the speaker._ This is Lieutenant Cross of the USAF. We copy that. Over and out._

Sanchez turned the radio off and took a deep breath. "If something bad had happened to those scientists down there, we just lost our closest back-up."

Lowe felt uneasy about the orders as well, but refused to reveal his feelings to Sanchez. He shrugged his shoulders, more to convince himself than to convince Sanchez.

There was a large underwater lab built into the side of a cliff located on the coast of Chile, called the S.A.L (seismic activity lab). The U.S. government had decided to grant a team of scientists to study the seismic activity around the area. The best position was underwater, as it was known there were many underwater volcanoes off the coast of South America.

About six months earlier, the scientists reported a series of high readings of seismic activity a few miles out to sea. They also noted that some of the larger fish had disappeared. The U.S. Navy had sent a diving team down to the station to retrieve the reports, but they had never returned.

The _Constitution_ was then sent to search for them and, if they found them or their bodies, to retrieve them.

Lowe looked down at Sanchez. "I'm sure everything's fine. I have to report back to Commander Aikens." With that, he spun on his heel and left the radio controls room.

Sanchez looked after him and when he left said, "Man, this is loco."

Commander Eric Aikens stood in full diving gear, preparing for the one and a half-hour dive down to the S.A.L. He was checking his mask when Lowe approached him. "Yes, Officer?"

Lowe saluted. "Sir, the Captain ordered the recall of the Air Force. The only back-up you and the team will have is the crew on the ship."

Aikens stopped to think before rolling his eyes. "That stupid ass is going to get us killed some day. I would have liked to have air support, but the orders come right from the top and I'm guessing you've already contacted the pilots to inform them." Lowe nodded. "Alright, you are dismissed. Thank you, Officer." Lowe saluted and left, overhearing Aikens muttering something about 'Damn Barnes, he'll murder us.'

It had been four hours since they had lost contact with Aikens and his team of divers.

"Are you sure we're on the right frequency?" Captain Barnes leaned over Sanchez's shoulder.

"I'm quite sure, sir." Sanchez glanced up at the older man. "Sir… should I try contacting the USAF again?"

"NO!" Barnes glared at Sanchez. "Those assholes just fuck everything up. They think they're better than we are, it pisses me off. We all do our duty!" He paused and Sanchez jumped in.

"Sir, we need help and they may be the closest help. They'll want to help." Sanchez held his breath, waiting for Barnes to answer. If he answered 'no', then it was hopeless.

"Alright fine, but I don't want to have to talk to them."

Sanchez quickly picked up the microphone. "This is the Constitution, we need assistance. We have five crewmembers missing… Are there any pilots out there?"

_This is Lieutenant Cross of the USAF. What kind of trick are you guys playing? Don't fuck with us man."_

"Roger that and eat shit, Cross. This is a real emergency; not some fakeass drill… Now get your flyboy asses in gear and come help us!" Sanchez grumbled into the mike. Barnes grabbed his shoulder so violently that Sanchez almost toppled off his chair. "Ow, that hurts!"

"It damn well should hurt, you stupid ass. What the hell do you think you're doing? Obviously not winning any fucking popularity contests!" Barnes tightened his grip on Sanchez's shoulder.

"But sir-"

"I don't want to hear it, Sanchez. You will be severely-" Barnes was cut off as another voice crackled through the radio.

_Okay shipboy, we'll come help you, since you guys are obviously incapable of handling an emergency. Over and out._ Then there was static.

Sanchez turned the radio down, and then glanced at Barnes. "See, sir? It's all competition to these guys. If we sucked up, it would work. If we bad-mouthed them, it would work. Sir, you have to realize that guys are stupid." He raised an eyebrow. Barnes leaned in close.

"You'd better watch it, Sanchez. You're starting to sound like a woman." He slapped Sanchez on the shoulder and left the room. Sanchez rubbed the spot where Barnes had gripped him and winced. Then he chuckled, but froze mid-laugh when he heard a radio message through the static. He changed the frequency and heard a garbled message in another language. "What the-" Before he could finish his sentence, there was a large explosion and the _Constitution_ blew up in a large, fiery mass of metal.

Lieutenant Cross circled his F-18 in the air. "Okay, so where is it?" He looked down at the ocean. This was the location he had been given of the Navy ship _Constitution_, but it was nowhere to be seen. "I swear to God, if they've been fucking with me-"

"Hey! Cross! No cursing on this frequency." The second pilot, Commander Norse, said into his radio headset. "I'm turning on my scanner. Maybe I can dig up something." He flicked a switch beside his radar screen and the screen turned blue; meaning his heat-seeking device had been activated. "Nope, there's nothing here." He switched it off after a few more seconds, and then circled in his F-18 one more time before turning back to base. "Maybe they headed into another port to get help."

"Or maybe they were just fucking with us." Cross suggested. With that, the two fighters turned and headed back to their base.


	2. Part 2

ICE STATION: CONTINUED

Part 2

Lieutenant Shane Schofield paced the hall outside a hospital room. At five-ten, with short black hair and a handsome face, there was no doubt that he was getting stares from the women in the hospital. He had a pair of silver Oakley's sunglasses on to hide the scars disfiguring his eyes and eyelids. He was waiting for the doctor to finish his examination of Lance Corporal Elizabeth Gant, or "Fox". Their team had returned to Washington about a week previously, but Gant had been shot in the process and had slipped into a coma. She had only come out of it a few days earlier and the doctors were still examining her blood because of the numerous transfusions required to replace the lost blood. Luckily, Gant was O positive and Schofield was able to donate. He had wanted to donate as much as he could, but the doctors had told him that if he continued, he would be putting himself in danger.

Schofield had replied, "Hey, I've been almost chewed to bits by a killer whale, shot by the Navy SEALS, blown up by the USAF and I've died and been resuscitated, so don't tell me not to put myself in danger."

The doctors had told him to leave the room after that display and that was the reason he was pacing the halls.

The doctor came out of the room and shut the door behind him. "Mr. Schofield?"

Schofield quickly turned around and walked up to the doctor. "Yes?"

"Everything seems to have worked out. She's resting right now, but you can go back in if you'd like."

Schofield nodded his head and looked past the doctor. "So… she'll be okay, right?"

"It appears so… yes." The doctor slid Gant's chart into a file beside the door. Schofield thanked him, then went into the room.

He sat in the chair beside the window, looking at Gant's face until her eyes started to flutter. Her eyes finally opened fully and she looked back into Schofield's sunglasses. "Hey… what are you doing here? I would have thought you'd be on another mission by now."

Schofield shrugged. "I've been here most of the time… giving blood."

Gant looked up at the ceiling. "The doctor said I'll be out of here in a couple of days. But he said I shouldn't go back into a Recon unit for another week, or any other unit for that matter. So, basically, I've been benched." She moved slightly, then winced. "Ah, still hurts."

Schofield started to get up and she stopped him. "No, stay, please, sir."

He smiled. "Like you said, you've been benched, Libby. You can call me Shane, and I was just getting up to get something by the door." He got up and went to the door, picking up a large gym bag.

"Oh, sorry… Shane. I'm just… I dunno. I haven't really seen much of anyone lately. I'm going nuts without human contact, you know? My sister's been in a few times and I guess you've been here every so often, but no one else really. I guess it's just the drugs talking."

Schofield, laughed, pulling a chair up to the side of the bed. He sat down and plunked the gym bag in his lap. Before undoing the zipper, he pulled off his sunglasses and glanced at Gant. She smiled softly and he opened the bag, pulling out a white Kevlar helmet.

"Remember this?" He tilted the helmet a bit so that Gant could see the bloodstained four-inch arrow sticking out of the front of it. She gasped and took the helmet.

"Oh god. That arrow sure was close, wasn't it?" She looked at Schofield over the helmet. "Why did you bring me this?"

"As a little memento for the battle we won." He put the gym bag down and leaned back in the chair. "Plus, you know, it's sort of a reminder to how close you came to death." He gave her a serious look and she tilted her head.

"That's true." She leaned back on her pillow and stared straight ahead. "So exactly how long have you been sitting here, waiting for me to wake up?"

"Uh, I don't know… maybe an hour?" He stretched his arms before letting out a long yawn. "I'm glad you're alright."

They sat in silence for a few minutes until Gant became uncomfortable.

"Yeah, so the doctor told me that I should start getting up and walking…" She trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"Oh, well, that's good news. I guess the USMC will want you to be in top shape before you rejoin my unit."

"What?" Gant quickly turned her head and looked at him.

He cocked his head. "Well, you're rejoining my unit eventually right? I mean, you're one of the best on the team." He paused, reflecting. "Actually, you, Mother, Rebound and I are the only ones who survived the Wilkes Station ordeal."

Gant bowed her head. "I can't understand the purpose behind the ICG. Why would they kill their own men just to keep a certain discovery safe?" She looked up at Schofield with tears in her eyes. "How could they do something like that?" She quickly wiped her eyes.

Schofield leaned forward and put his hand on hers. "Listen… I know marines are supposed to be strong and everything… but losing members of a team that you knew well is hard, so let your feelings for them show." He patted her hand and she looked up at him.

"I'm glad we're okay."

"Me too."

They talked and laughed for another hour or so until Schofield discovered it was almost time for him to meet with Rebound and Mother to discuss new team members. 

"I'll tell them to come visit you soon."

"It doesn't matter. I'm supposed to be released in a few days anyway."

Schofield stood up from the chair and grinned, putting his sunglasses back on. "I'll see you tomorrow, maybe we can go for a walk." He walked toward the door, then turned as he reached it. He opened his mouth to say something, then decided against it.

"It's a shame…" Gant started to say, then stopped.

Schofield waited for her to finish, but she didn't, so he pressed her. "What's a shame?"

"Oh… nothing… well, it's a shame that you're covering up your pretty eyes." She looked away when she made the comment and when she glanced back up he had a crooked smile on his face. "What?"

He shook his head, then turned back towards the door, propping his sunglasses on top of his black hair. "I'll see you tomorrow, Fox."

"Sure, Scarecrow."

"Sorry, I'm late. I was visiting Gant in the hospital." Schofield got to the restaurant they had agreed to meet at and noticed Rebound and Mother right away. Rebound was sitting with his head in his hands and Mother was shifting in her seat because her fake leg was becoming uncomfortable. In front of them sat a large pile of papers.

"So, how is she?" Mother grinned. She knew Gant had feelings for Schofield, but was reluctant to tell him about them.

"She's getting better, but the doctor says she'll have to stay out of Recon for about a week, but after that, I want her back in my unit." Schofield took his glass of water and gulped it down. "In the meantime, we're going to have to find new team members." He pointed at the pile of papers. "So have you looked through them yet?"

"Nah, we were too busy eating our steak dinners." Rebound replied.

"Ha ha. You get funnier every day, Rebound." Schofield rolled his eyes in a grand gesture. "So… let's get to it!" He was relieved that he had been allowed to choose his own team members. The Wilkes Ice Station incident was a disaster in itself, but the fact that two of his members; Snake and Montana, were double agents, didn't really help the situation. As they rifled through various files, Mother began pressing the Gant/Schofield issue. She knew there had to be more to Scarecrow than there seemed, or else he wouldn't have spent all of his free time visiting Gant in the hospital.

"So… what did you and Fox talk about?" She had an amused grin on her face that Schofield didn't know how to interpret.

"Not much."

Mother raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Then why were you so late for our meeting?"

Schofield looked to Rebound, but Rebound just replied, "Yeah, why were you so late?" Both Mother and Rebound sounded quite childish.

"So… are we going to have dinner or what?" He said hastily.

Mother waved a finger at him. "Uh uh! No changing subjects. Why were you so late?"

Schofield gave her a pissed-off look and she shrugged. He sighed; glad she was letting the subject drop. The truth was he wasn't really sure of what answer he would have given her. He had gone to visit Gant the first day she was in the hospital, in a coma, with the intention of checking up on her, then going back to do more Recon work. When he had visited her today, he had gone with the intention of giving her the helmet, then giving some blood and meeting with Mother and Rebound. In both circumstances, plus the multiple visits in between, he had ended up staying for hours, either talking to her while she was awake or watching her resting form. The moment he had seen her file, he had been impressed and entranced. He had requested to have her transferred to his unit immediately and him and the men in the unit had come up with the call sign "Fox".

At twenty-six with short blond hair and sky-blue eyes, Elizabeth Gant was one of the most attractive women Shane Schofield had ever met. There had been a party at Pearl where they had talked and Schofield knew if she got hurt during a mission, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.  A few times during a conversation between him, Gant and a few other officers, Schofield had drifted off into thought, a sad look crossing his face. He had been thinking about how, in having her in his unit, there was no possible way for him to have a relationship with her.

"Yo, boss?" Rebound's voice broke into his reverie.

"Huh, what?"

"What was that? What were you just thinking about?" There was a few seconds pause as Schofield began drifting off again. He shook his head slightly, then said,

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Never mind. What about this guy? His name is… Roger Dowd." Rebound looked up from the papers. "He sounds pretty good on paper."

Schofield dug into one of the pockets of his pants and took out a piece of paper. Unfolding it, he scanned a list of names.

"Nope. ICG. That means a huge, fat, big negative on the transfer into my unit." The list had been e-mailed to him by his good friend, Andrew Trent. It listed all of the known ICG informants enlisted in the army, navy, air force, colleges, universities, you name it. That was how Schofield had figured out Montana was ICG.

"Is that Hawk's list?"

"Yup."

"Hey, speaking of Hawk, why doesn't he join the unit? He's obviously not ICG, you trust him and he seems to trust you. What about it?" Mother suggested.

"I've already approached him on the subject. He said he would get back to me."

They continued to sift through the papers until they settled on three definites and three optionals:

1. Brendan Curry- a thirty year old who enlisted in the marines at twenty-five. He was physically fit and had blond hair and green eyes.

2. Alice Zellerman- a twenty-year-old graduate from Princeton who decided the marines was better than an office job. She had long brown hair and blue eyes.

3. Dave Brown- a forty-year-old corporal who had been enlisted for twenty years and always wanted to do Recon work. He was built like a football player and had a large scar running on one side of his face from his temple to his chin.

The three options were a retired Navy SEAL, an ambitious Lieutenant and Andrew Trent.

"I say, we wait until we hear back from Gant and Trent to see when and if they are going to join the team, then we choose from our options." Mother piped up. Rebound agreed and Schofield nodded.

"Okay, then. Are you guys coming tomorrow?"

Mother and Rebound stopped getting up from their seats.

"Coming where?" Rebound finally asked.

"Coming to the hospital to visit Fox. Come on, guys, she needs your support." Schofield smiled. "What do you say?"

"I can't. My ex-husband is bringing my daughter over tomorrow and I don't know when he'll show up. Sorry, Scarecrow." Mother rose from her seat and pointed to the papers. "Take those to Fox, maybe two heads are better than three." She smiled cryptically, then left.

Schofield turned to Rebound. "What about you, Simmons?"

Rebound gave him a wary look, then sighed. "Alright. I guess I can spare a few hours from my otherwise extremely open schedule." He grinned.

Schofield clapped his hands together and smiled. "Great. I'm sure she'll be glad to have someone other than me there."

Rebound raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I'm not too sure about that." He said quietly.

Schofield glanced up sharply. "Huh?"

"Oh, nothing."

They agreed to meet at the hospital early the next morning and talk to Gant about choosing team members.


	3. Part 3

ICE STATION: CONTINUED

Part 3

Rebound arrived at 10 am and asked the head nurse where Gant's room was.

"Oh, it's on the 3rd level. Room 304. Are you a relative?"

"No, not really. I'm a close friend." Rebound replied.

"It's wonderful that more people are coming to visit her. Her sister has come in a few times and a young man who refuses to remove his sunglasses has been here for almost the whole week."

_Oh yeah, that sounds like Scarecrow._ Rebound thought as he went to the elevator and pressed "3". It dinged and the doors shut. He whistled to the tune playing on the radio and tried not to think about the Wilkes incident.

The elevator dinged and he stepped out onto the third floor. He quickly found room 304 and turned the handle on the door. He saw Schofield sitting in a chair by the bed, fast asleep. Then he saw Gant lying in the bed with her eyes open, looking at Schofield.

"How long has he been here?" Rebound closed the door, then went to an empty chair to sit, chuckling at Gant's jump at the sound of his voice.

"I don't honestly know. Maybe three hours." She turned and smiled at Rebound. "So, you're still hanging around with this loser?"

Rebound grinned. "Yup. And he's anxious for your return. Did you know that he's been visiting you every day?"

"He told me he's visited, but he didn't tell me it was every day." She glanced over at Schofield. "So how is Mother?"

_That was a drastic subject change_ Rebound thought, but decided to let it slide. "She's pretty good. Her new leg is bothering her a bit, but she's the same old motherfucker." They both laughed.

"Oh Rebound, is that really how you feel about me?" Gant and Rebound looked up at the door and saw Mother standing there. She grinned, then sort of limped towards the bed. "So how is Dorothy doing?" She sat down on the bed and hugged Gant. Gant quickly glanced at Schofield, making sure he was still asleep. He wasn't. His eyes were wide open and he looked confused.

"Dorothy?" He mouthed and Gant looked away. "Hey Mother! You made it. What about your ex-husband?"

"Aw, the bastard called at the last minute saying she had a birthday party to go to. Birthday party, my fucking ass!" Mother huffed, much to the enjoyment of the others. "So… how are you, Dorothy?"

"I'm fine, getting better every day."

"Okay, will someone explain to me why you are calling Fox 'Dorothy'?" Schofield asked impatiently.

Mother glanced at Gant and Gant gave her a pleading look. "It's a little joke. Wizard of Oz stuff. I'll explain later." Mother looked over her shoulder at Schofield. "What time did you get here?"

Schofield yawned and closed his eyes. "Um, about five. I couldn't sleep. For some reason, I can sleep here, but I can't sleep at home."

Mother glanced back at Gant. "Must be something in the air… or the people."

Gant rolled her eyes.

Schofield looked from Mother to Gant, then back to Mother. "Okay, what drugs are you on, Mother?"

Mother grinned, shaking her head in mock pity. "You're a great guy, Scarecrow, but you're a little slow on the uptake."

Gant jumped in, eager to change the subject. "So, why are you guys all here?"

Rebound looked over at Schofield, who was reaching into a large briefcase and pulling out the files.

"Well, we'd like your opinion on choosing new team members." Schofield pulled out the files of the three definites and three optionals and handed them to Gant.

"Whoa!" was her first reaction. "Who is this guy?" She held up the picture of Brendan Curry.

Schofield mentally cursed his decision. 

Gant quickly scanned Curry's bio and looked up. "He sounds like a good addition." She went through the other two and okayed them. When she came to the three optionals, she stopped. "Okay, so… what's the deal with these 'optionals'? With the three new members, we'll have… what? Six people plus Andrew Trent if he agrees to join USMC again."

Schofield turned sharply at her calculations. "That's seven. You forgot to include yourself."

"No, I didn't. Sir, I'm not-"

"Call me Shane, Libby." He sighed.

"The doctor said no strenuous activity for at least a week. If your team gets called for a Recon mission in the next week, I won't be able to join you."

Schofield cursed under his breath. She was right.

"I'm sure you'll be up and around by the time another country has a disaster." Rebound said reassuringly.

"I hope so." Gant sighed.

Officer James Lowe of the _Constitution_ opened his eyes and winced. A bright light was shining in a window and his eyes gradually became used to it. He scanned the room and saw he was in a hospital.

He recalled the explosion. He had been standing on the deck of the ship and looked into the water to see something rapidly approaching the ship underwater.

"What the f-" Before he had been able to finished, he had been violently thrown off the deck and into the ocean as the _Constitution blew up._

He had blacked out for a time, and when he awoke, he saw that he had drifted to land and there was a crowd of people uttering Spanish all around him. Lowe had looked down at himself and saw his navy uniform was charred as well as the skin underneath. His hands were burnt beyond recognition and it was then that he realized it would have been better if he had died.

A large Chilean had walked up to him and exclaimed, "Ay, Dios mio!"

That was the last conscious image in Lowe's mind before he had blacked out again.

Lowe lifted his hands slowly and saw they had been bandaged. A doctor came into the room and took his pulse and temperature.

Lowe struggled to speak. "Excuse me, but do you-"

"No hablo ingles, senor. Ay, lo siento. Un momento." The doctor rushed from the room then came back a few minutes later followed by a large barrel-chested man. When he spoke, his words were impeded by a strong Spanish accent.

"So you are awake?"

Lowe nodded. "Can you tell me what happened to the ship?"

The Spaniard looked confused. "Ship?" He turned to the other doctor. "El esta enferma!" He said a few more words to the doctor before turning back to Lowe. "Tell me about the ship."

"I need to speak to someone from the U.S. Navy. Por favor, senor."

The Spaniard laughed. "Que Asco! Your accent is no good, senor. I will try to contact someone in the navy. In the meantime, you try and rest. You are burned very bad." With that, the Spaniard left and the doctor gave Lowe some morphine.

"Senor Lowe… senor!"

Lowe opened his eyes to see the Spaniard holding a small cell phone.

"Senor, there is a phone call from the U.S. Navy." He handed the cell phone to Lowe, then left the room.

"Hello?"

"Jesus Christ Almighty!" A gruff voice exclaimed from the other end of the line.

"Excuse me?"

"Is this Officer Lowe?"

"…Yes."

"Jesus Christ Almighty! This is like talking to a fucking ghost!"

"Who is this?"

"This is Commander Waylon J. Riggs of the Navy SEALS. We need to talk to you right away." The gruff voice had lost its jubilant tone and was replaced with seriousness. "When do you think you can get back to Washington?"

Lowe glanced up and noticed the Spaniard hovering near the door. "Excuse me, senor? When will I be released?"

"Oh, soon, senor. Maybe two days. You have been in here for two weeks."

"TWO WEEKS?" Lowe exclaimed. He must have been unconscious for a long time. He uncovered the mouthpiece of the cell phone. "He said in two days, sir."

"We'll have transport for you when you get out." Then the line went dead.


	4. Part 4

ICE STATION: CONTINUED

Part 4

"Shit, shit, shit!" Schofield shook his head while pacing up and down the hallway outside his office in the USMC headquarters.

"Problem, sir?" Rebound stuck his head out the door of Schofield's office.

"Wasn't Curry supposed to be here an hour ago?" Schofield glanced at his watch for what must have been the thirtieth time in the last half-hour. He looked up and down the hallway, then ducked back inside his office. "There's somethin' I don't like about this guy."

Rebound rolled his eyes. "Sir, you're thirty-two. Don't you think you're a little old for petty jealousy?"

Schofield was rifling through some papers. He was getting impatient and not really thinking about what Rebound was saying. "Huh? What?"

"Never mind." Rebound saw a blond-haired guy standing outside the office. "Sir, he's here."

Schofield stopped his actions immediately and stood up. "Send him in here."

"Yes, sir." Rebound went outside and stood in front of Curry. "Are you Brendan Curry?"

"Yes, sir."

"You can go in now." Rebound watched as Curry stepped confidently into the office, then closed the door behind him as Rebound stepped into the office as well.

Schofield motioned for Curry to sit down. "Good morning. I am Lieutenant Shane Schofield, or 'Scarecrow'. As you probably already guessed, you will join my Reconnaissance unit and obey my orders and respect my leadership. Is that understood?"

Curry nodded. "Yes, sir."

Schofield relaxed a bit. "Okay, now that we've got the formal stuff finished, I can tell you who the rest of the team members are. This is Rebound Simmons…"

"Nice to meet you." Rebound couldn't help but think of what competition could arise between the two men.

"By the way, we usually call each other by our call signs, so he is just Rebound. My second-in-command will be Libby Gant, or 'Fox', but as she is injured in the hospital and may not be able to join us in the event that we are called in the next week, Mother will be my second-in-command. She is currently at a doctor's appointment repositioning her prosthetic leg."

"You guys must have seen a lot of action." Curry replied after a long silence.

Schofield looked down at his hands. "We were attacked by French Foreign Legion assassins and the SAS. I lost 8 men." There was a short pause, then Schofield sighed. "So, anyway, we haven't decided on the remaining team members, so we want your opinion." He handed the filed to Curry.

Curry quickly flipped through them, then handed them back to Schofield. "They sound fine, sir."

"Any preferences?"

"No, sir."

"You can stop calling me sir, you know."

"Okay, sir."

Schofield groaned inwardly. "Okay, then. I'll call up the remaining two and we can all get acquainted." He stood up and shook Curry's hand. "We'll be in contact."

Curry saluted, which made Schofield roll his eyes, then left the office.

"I think he should be 'Tinman'." Rebound said as soon as Curry was out of earshot.

"Why?"

"Because… uh, he seems to not have any opinions or feelings towards anyone. He's a robot."

Schofield thought for a few minutes. "Where are you headed now?"

Rebound walked to the door, then said, "Home."

Lowe stepped off the plane and walked over towards the two armed soldiers standing in the arrivals area.

"Are you Officer James Lowe?" One of the soldiers asked him, while searching for something in his shirt pocket.

"Yes."

The officer pulled out a small square of paper and held it beside Lowe's head. "This is a picture of you and you don't resemble this picture."

Lowe glanced beside him and saw the picture. "It is me. I swear. I had an accident which I am sure you're well aware of." He said coldly.

The officer looked at him skeptically, then asked, "Can you produce identification?"

Lowe pulled out his wallet, which had been in his pocket when he was thrown from the ship. It was pretty burnt, but it held a partially melted I.D. card that proved who he was.

"Alright, Mr. Lowe. Commander Riggs has a car for you."

They walked outside and Lowe saw an armoured Humvee sitting in the airport parking lot.

They arrived at the Navy SEALS headquarters and Lowe was ushered into a large office with dim lighting.

"Good afternoon, Officer Lowe." A large chair was situated behind an equally large desk and a hard voice emanated from behind it. The chair slowly spun around and Commander Waylon J. Riggs appeared sitting in it. "How was your flight?"

Lowe sat down in a small chair on the other side of the desk. "Good. Now are you going to help me figure out what happened to the _Constitution?"_

Riggs sat up straight and leaned over the desk to examine Lowe more closely. "Yes. I knew one of the men on the ship. Sean Barnes. We weren't that close, but it's still a pity that he had to die." He cleared his throat and fiddled with a pen on his desk. "We're going to send a Recon unit in to try and figure out what happened to those men and your ship."

"How long until they begin their search?"

"Well, first we need to find a Recon unit that isn't busy, then we need them to do some hardcore training for a few days before we can send them out on the actual mission."

"Ballpark figure?"

Riggs sighed. "At most? A week."

Lowe set his jaw and gritted his teeth. "It's already been two weeks! The ship will have been down there for three weeks!"

"How do you know it sank? We don't know what happened to the _Constitution, which is why we're sending in the marines!" Riggs' voice grew louder._

"I'm sorry, sir. A week will be sufficient. Do you have any Recon units in mind?"

Riggs calmed down and folded his hands on top of the desk. "Yes. Schofield's team. They returned form Antarctica about a week before you woke up from your coma." Riggs then signaled to Lowe that he could leave. "We'll be in contact with you as I'm sure Schofield will want details. For now, I believe you should rest."

Lowe nodded and left.

Gant gathered her things in her hospital room and joined her sister, Denise, at the door. "Finally, it's time to get back to doing what I enjoy!"

Denise sighed and shook her head. "What? Withholding information about your feelings for a certain lieutenant?" She eyed Gant carefully.

"Ha ha ha. You can be so amusing, LITTLE sister." Gant slung her bag over shoulder and they went to the front entrance of the hospital, only to run into Shane Schofield.

"Hey! They released you early. That's great!"

Gant grinned, then stopped when she saw her sister eyeing the two of them and laughing.

"Yeah, I was just going home to unpack, then to the gym to get back into shape."

"Do you want a ride home?" Schofield turned and pointed to a navy blue convertible. "I have my car here."

Gant blew a hair out of her eyes. "Well, my sister here was-"

"Going to pick up some groceries and is so very grateful that her sister has such a great superior officer! Have fun kids!" Denise gave Gant a thumbs-up behind Schofield's back, then left the hospital.

"Here, I'll take your bag." Schofield took Gant's bag from her shoulder and put it on his own.

"You really don't have to-"

"Fox… you were shot." Even though he had his silver sunglasses on, Gant could tell he was dead serious by the tone of his voice.

"Alright, okay. I have no objections."

They walked to Schofield's car and got in, dumping Gant's bag in the backseat.

"So how are the new additions coming along?" Gant asked as they pulled out of the parking lot. She winced at the bright light, pulled out a pair of black sunglasses and put them on.

"I'm glad you asked. If its not too much trouble, I wanted to make sure they got to meet everybody on the team. How about dinner tonight? We're meeting at that Italian place on fifth, uh, Santino's, at eight o'clock. Can you make it?"

"Yeah, sure."

They arrived at her apartment ten minutes later and Gant got out of the car, pulling her bag out of the back seat. "Thanks for the ride."

He flashed a wide grin. "Anytime."

"I'm looking for the Schofield party." A young man approached the maitre de.

"Is it urgent?" The maitre de looked down his long nose at the man.

"Extremely." The maitre de sighed, then led the man over to a long table with eight places set and a 'reserved' sign sitting in the middle.

"Their reservation is for eight, so they're not here yet." The maitre de was eager to get rid of the man.

"That's okay. I'll wait." The maitre de rolled his eyes before sticking his long nose in the air and walking off.

Schofield arrived five minutes later. "Table for seven. Under Schofield." He told a waiter.

"Ah, yes. One of your friends has already arrived. He is waiting for the rest of you. Follow me please." The waiter led Schofield to a table and there, sitting in one of the chairs was Andrew Trent.

"Hawk?"

Trent jumped, then turned to face Schofield. "Jesus! You scared the shit out of me!" Schofield took a seat across from him. "Have you not heard yet? It's all over the place!"

"What? What's all over the place?"

Trent made sure no one was eavesdropping. "The explosion off the coast of Chile. Jesus, you've been back more than a week and no one bothers to tell you a fucking destroyer was blown up?"

"WHAT?" Schofield exclaimed, a little too loudly as some people's heads turned and he heard some shushing him.

Trent leaned back in his chair. "You're the unit going in to try and find out what happened to the poor bastards."

"How do you know all this?"

"I met with Commander Riggs, ICG bastard, and some officer named James Lowe. Lowe was on the ship when it blew and he is burned shitless. He's got to have major facial reconstruction, let me tell you." Trent saw Schofield's attention was wavering, obviously apathetic to Lowe's problem. "So anyway, they figure they'll give you four or five days to get prepared and train before sending you out to South America."

_Fuck._ Schofield thought. "One of my team members will have to join us a few days later."

"Who and why?"

"Lance Corporal Libby Gant. She was shot during the mission in Antarctica."

Trent furrowed his brow. "That pretty blond? Shot? What a shame. They'll probably arrange transportation for her somehow."

"Why don't you come with us? I could use an even number on the team." Schofield was also paranoid that one of his new recruits could be ICG.

"I told you, I'm thinking about it. It's a big decision. Anyway, that's the situation. They'll probably contact you tomorrow." Trent got up from his seat and shook Schofield's hand. "I'll be in touch." Then he left.

"Yo Scarecrow! Sorry I'm a bit late…. But obviously everyone else is as well, so…" Rebound sat down, marveling at the teams slow show.

"I don't blame them." Schofield said, sipping a glass of water. "This is your little bit of down time. It's the time to gain back your shreds of sanity before you go and lose it again."

"Damn… then why did I show up so fuckin' early?" Rebound joked.

The rest of the team filtered in eventually and Gant was the last one to arrive, save for the three additions. Gant took the seat to Schofield's left and Rebound was sitting across from her. Mother was sitting on Rebound's right, across from Schofield.

Rebound unconsciously began humming the GI Joe theme song and the rest of the team joined in.

"I'm guessing this is the right table, then?" said a man who was well built with a large scar running the length of his face.

The team stopped humming and Schofield got up to shake hands with the man.

"You must be David Brown."

Brown smiled. "Dave."

Schofield pointed to the chair beside Mother and Brown sat down.

"We'll wait for the other two to arrive before I introduce you to the rest of the team."

Brown surveyed the people sitting across and beside him. There was a middle-aged woman, a young man who looked fit, a blond woman in her late twenties, and Schofield.

He examined closely. He was wearing dark glasses and they were indoors… at night.

"Is something wrong?"

"I was just wondering about your sunglasses, sir."

Schofield touched them lightly. "It's a long and gruesome tale, Dave. I'm not sure it's worth explaining. Just know that I wear sunglasses whenever I can."

Brown looked around the table. The middle-aged woman and the young man were looking at Schofield curiously while the blond woman had seemed to understand what Schofield had said and bowed her head, looking uncomfortable.

The second addition to the team to arrive was Alice Zellerman. She sat down next to Gant and introduced herself.

"Damn, that Curry is always late." Schofield glanced at his watch.

"You're not going to speed up time by glancing at your watch every few seconds, Lieutenant." Curry joked, sitting down at the table.

Schofield gritted his teeth, then remembered what Trevor Barnaby had taught him before he tried to kill him: _As a leader, you simply cannot afford to get angry or upset. _

"Glad you could join us, Curry." Schofield said begrudgingly. "Welcome new recruits to one of the USMC's finest Recon units. I am Lieutenant Shane Schofield. I will be your commanding officer for the remainder of your time in this unit, so you will obey what I say and respect me…

Gant, Rebound and Mother tuned this all out as they had heard it during their previous initiations into the unit.

"…This is Lance Corporal Elizabeth Gant. Her callsign is "Fox". Across from her is PFC Robert Simmons, or "Rebound". Next to him is Sergeant Gena Newman, or "Mother"." He was suddenly interrupted by Rebound.

"You know, you woulda thought we'd all get promotions after what happened down there…" He trailed off. "Aw well, life's a bitch."

Schofield looked at him sternly before continuing. "They are also your superior officers and I expect you to treat them as you would treat me."

The three new recruits nodded and Curry cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry, sir, but would you mind if I inquired about the events in Antarctica?"

Schofield glanced at Mother, Rebound and Gant and saw Gant unconsciously shiver.

"I'm afraid that experience is all too fresh in our minds and I am unable to divulge that information." Schofield then asked each of the recruits to introduce themselves.

Alice Zellerman described herself as 'up to the challenge of the Marines' and explained that she had a medical degree from Princeton.

Dave Brown was an experienced veteran that reminded Schofield of Book. Brown explained that his call sign was "Hare", as in a rabbit or rabbit's foot. He said he had luck with him because the scar on his face could have cut his throat.

Brendan Curry was an experienced Marine with the physical build of a pro-football player. Schofield noticed he was disciplined well and decided having him in the unit would be a positive. Then he caught Curry staring at Gant. _Then, maybe not._ He thought.

They ate in relatively small conversation until Curry said,

"So when will Fox be joining us if we are called to duty in the following days?"

"Whenever she is physical prepared."

Curry muttered under his breath. "She already is."

Schofield caught it and replied, "What was that, soldier?"

Curry went a deep shade of red, then said, "I said that's good news, sir."

Schofield smirked. "Yes, it is good news."

Sure enough, when Schofield arrived at his office one morning, his phone was ringing wildly.

"Lieutenant Schofield."

"Scarecrow, we need a team to go to Chile to do some Recon work, You have two days to train, then we're sending you out." The line went dead, but Schofield knew who it had been. Riggs.


	5. Part 5

ICE STATION: CONTINUED

Part 5

He called the team together a few hours later and told them the situation.

"I've contacted James Lowe and he will be joining our team. We will depart at exactly 1300 hours and arrive at roughly 2300 hours, so we can all get acquainted on the ride out there."

"Will we be landing in Santiago, sir?" Zellerman asked, who had been newly appointed "Princeton" for obvious reasons and the fact that Rebound, Mother and Gant had been training late the previous night and had become uncreative in their decisions.

"No, Santiago is too far inland. We will be landing just outside a smaller city near the coast, La Serena. It's roughly 250 miles from Santiago." Schofield shuffled some papers on his desk before continuing. "We have to train extremely hard for three days straight and be prepared for anything."

Gant and Mother sat down on the rowing machines in the exercise room. A sudden _whirr_ broke through the silence as the machines came to life.

"So… tomorrow's the big day, huh?" Gant said after a few tugs on the chain.

"Yup, but you're joining us 24 hours later, right?" Mother glanced at Gant. "I think Scarecrow will have a heart attack if you don't."

Gant said nothing, but slowed her pace on the machine.

"Come on, Fox. It's not that subtle." Mother chuckled to herself.

"What's not subtle?" Gant quickened her pace again, not eager to continue the conversation.

"It's obvious you have feelings for him, Fox. Well, obvious to everyone but him. And maybe the new kids." Mother referred to the new recruits as the "new kids" because of their inexperience in combat situations. She referred to Dave Brown as "Scarface" and he didn't seem to mind.

"Feelings for who?" Gant decided that the best way to go about it was to pretend to be oblivious.

Mother sighed. "I see that way you look at him, Fox. You know what I'm talking about."

Gant wiped the sweat from her forehead and got up from the machine. "No, actually I really don't." She picked up some weights.

Mother walked over to the Stairmaster and set it at the highest level. "Like hell you don't know what I'm talking about. That Curry has been giving you the exact same looks."

Gant looked up sharply. "Curry? How has he been looking at me?"

"Like you've been looking at the Scarecrow. Don't deny it, Fox."

Gant rolled her eyes. "I have no interest in Curry whatsoever. He doesn't even know me! At least with Scarecrow it's about something other than physical attraction."

Mother grinned triumphantly. "So you finally admit it. Too bad you're too spineless to tell Scarecrow face-to-face."

Gant glared at her, then sighed. "Listen, Book caught on the way you did. I told him that if I ever told Scarecrow how I felt, I would be transferred out of the unit, without question. I told him that I would rather be near Scarecrow and not be able to touch him than to be a thousand miles away and still not be able to touch him."

Mother shook her head sadly. "Poor little Dorothy."

Gnat was puzzled, but could not read further into Mother's words because the door to the exercise room burst open and Rebound, Curry, Brown and Schofield walked in.

"Where have you guys been?" Mother raised an eyebrow when she saw that they were all sweating.

"We went for a run. Too bad Curry couldn't keep up!" Rebound laughed. Curry scowled. Schofield grinned.

"We thought it would be a good idea just to relax tonight… maybe we could all go out for a beer or something." He glanced at Mother and Gant and saw them nod. "Great. Now I got to go have a shower." He walked to the shower room and the rest of the guys followed him, wanting to clean themselves up before a night on the town.

_"They planted men in my unit! They planted men inside my goddamn unit! Marines, those SEALS who came in here before, they said that they were here to help me…"_ Schofield sat at the bar, sipping a beer. _"And now they're trying to kill me! Fuck! Some of my own men are helping them, for God's sake! They planted men in my own goddamned unit!"_ It echoed repeatedly in his head, reminding him of the men in his own unit who had turned against him.

"Hey, you okay?" Mother sat down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.

Schofield looked up. "Just thinking about Wilkes."

Mother sighed. "God, was that a mess. But you have to let this go. It wasn't your fault. Hell, you led us into battle against French elite soldiers, the Navy SEALS and the SAS. And we beat the bastards _every time." She turned in her seat to look at the table of Marines. "We have a good solid team now. We can figure out what the fuck happened to those scientists out there."_

Schofield turned and looked to the table as well. "You're right, Mother. You always seem to keep your head on straight."

"I learned from the master." She replied before heading back to the table.

"Okay, guys. Let's try not to get totally shit-faced seeing as we have to get up for instructions at 0500 hours." Schofield said after clearing his throat. Everyone groaned.

"0500? That's an ungodly hour!" Rebound complained.

"Oh suck it up, Rob. Ever since we've gotten back you've been a lazy ass." Gant joked.

"What can I say? My bed is comfortable." He replied.

"No, seriously guys. Try not to overdo it with the alcohol tonight. We _do_ have a ten hour flight to work off a hangover, but that's no excuse." Schofield sat down in a chair beside Mother and took a quick glance at Gant, who was sitting across from him. "How's the bullet wound, Fox?"

She glanced up and gave him a slow smile. "Okay, I guess. It still hurts sometimes, but I'll live." She turned to Mother. "So did you ever come up with a callsign for this guy?" She indicated Curry, who was sitting to her left.

"Rebound and I came up with one after you left that training session. We decided on 'Ruger' because someone over at headquarters told us you stole a Ruger off some SEAL and it was your favourite." Mother grinned.

Curry shrugged. "Hey, those shotguns kick some serious ass!" He glanced at Gant to see whether his choice of weapon was impressive. He frowned when he saw that she was joking with Schofield.

"Do you remember that time in Cuba when you were using a Ruger?"

Schofield groaned. "Oh God, don't remind me."

She turned toward the rest of the group and continued. "He'd never used one before and, these Rugers, they're powerful bitches right? So he takes the gun and this Cuban guy pops up out of nowhere, screaming gibberish and waving a gun around. Well, Scarecrow…" She broke into laughter, so Schofield continued for her.

"I took the gun and shot the guy, but the recoil sent me flying backwards. I had no fucking idea that backdraft would be so powerful!"

The rest of the Marines were cracking up. Gant stopped long enough to glance up at Schofield. He caught her eye and grinned.

"Okay guys! Up and at'em! Come on, we have to take off in less than an hour!" Schofield went along the hallway in the hotel, knocking on the various doors. He had rationalized that staying in the airport's hotel was better than having to drive there at 0300 hours. He heard Rebound groan. "Jump in the shower and get dressed 'cause we have to get a move on!"

Half an hour later, the team was at the departing gate, waiting for James Lowe to arrive.

Schofield scanned the waiting area after looking at a recent photo of Lowe.

"Where the hell is this guy?"

"So, sir, what about all our weapons and stuff?" Curry asked.

"They've already been sent down and are waiting for us in La Serena. We don't want a U.S. military plane flying through unfriendly territory."

"Lieutenant Schofield!" A voice hollered from the other side of the waiting room. Schofield turned and saw Andrew Trent.

"What are you doing here, Hawk?" He then noticed Trent's duffel bag. "Are you joining us?" He broke into a wide smile.

"Yeah, I figured you would probably need an on-land guy or radio contact." Trent shook Schofield's hand before being introduced to the rest of the team.

James Lowe hurried through the airport.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck oh fuck." He said repeatedly as he checked his watch. He rounded the corner and raced up to the group of marines. "Sorry I'm late, sir." He saluted Schofield. "I got caught in traffic."

Schofield nodded his head in understanding. "That's perfectly alright. Now then, everyone's here, so let's get on board."

He gave everyone their tickets. "Ruger, Princeton, you're together, Hare, you're alone, Rebound, you're beside the window with Officer Lowe."

"Oh great! Window seat!" Rebound said with fake enthusiasm.

"Mother, you're with me. Hawk, I guess you got your own ticket." Schofield glanced at Trent, who nodded. "I'm just going to make a quick phone call and then we can go." Schofield took out a small cellphone and tapped in a number. He walked a few paces away to have some privacy. "Hi, is Libby there? … Thanks." He looked over at the group, then tapped his foot impatiently. "Oh, hi Fox. It's Scarecrow… I'm good, you? … Great. Listen, we're just about to leave and I wanted to double-check the time of your arrival… okay… great. We have to spend a few days preparing rations and weapons, you know the drill, so we should be all set by the time you arrive… What was that? … Oh, we will, you too… Bye." He hung up and walked back over to the group. "Okay, let's go."


	6. Part 6

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for… well, all the ones I made up… sue me and DIE! Ha, just kidding. I don't have any money, so there's really no point….

Author's Note: I know I haven't updated this in a couple of *cough* years, but a recent review by "rhnsz" made me decide to update it finally! Thank you so much for reviewing because I had honestly given up on it… I know there are probably a lot of typos, but… what can you do? So, to those of you who haven't given up on it, here's more…

********

Another ten hours later, they stepped off the plane into Chile.

"Don't get distracted now, guys. Our connecting flight departs in ten minutes and it's at the other end of the airport."

The eight marines ran as hard as they could and got to their destination just in time.

The plane was only a ten-seater and they were the only ones booked on the flight.

"No wonder. If a group of scientists and a cruiser disappeared off the coast, would you want to visit? I don't think so!" Princeton said with a laugh.

They got on the plane and spent another hour talking with the marine beside them. Mother took the opportunity to continue her conversation with Schofield.

"So, Scarecrow…"

Schofield turned and looked at Mother through his anti-flash glasses. "You're not going to try and continue this conversation, are you?"

"Seriously, I want to know! What made you choose me for your unit?"

Schofield sighed. "To be honest, I didn't choose you. Sergeant Major Kozlowski did." When he saw the look that crossed Mother's face, he added, "But as soon as I saw your file, I knew you'd be a great addition."

Mother beamed. "Thanks, Scarecrow."

There was a pause and Schofield looked back down at the newspaper he had been reading. "So Scarecrow…"

He turned again, agitated. "Yes?"

"What made you choose Gant for your unit? And don't say it's because old Chucky boy did it 'cause I know you chose her yourself."

He stared off into space for a few moments, then replied. "Give it up, Mother."

She nudged him in the ribs. "Come on, Scarecrow. It's not like it's confidential or anything… Is it?"

"No, I just chose her because… I read over her file and she looked good." He stumbled over the words. "That is… I mean she looked good on paper. Hey do you want to pass me those files over there? There's a report from one of the scientists that went missing."

Mother sighed at the abrupt change in subject and wondered whether Schofield would ever come to terms with his feelings for Gant.

**RATATATATATATA**

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Curry groaned. They were going over the weapons and Princeton had picked up an MP-5SD submachine gun. "Put on the fucking silencer!" He screamed over the noise.

"Sorry." She squeaked after the clip went dry.

Schofield grabbed Curry by the collar and dragged him into the tiny building on the coast. He shoved him against the wall and narrowed his eyes. "You're new, so I'll go a bit easier on you this time. In my unit, we treat each other with respect, you got it?"

Curry nodded and Schofield looked back outside and saw a truck approaching.

"What the fuck?"

They were in the middle of nowhere on the coast of Chile, about ten miles from any town. It had only been two days since they had arrived and they had been pretty quiet.

"Who in God's name is that?"

Schofield went to the door of the building and threw it open just as the truck came to a stop. He ran up to the driver's side. "Hey, this is a restricted area, you can't come in here!"

The driver, a small Chilean, got out and spoke. "Lo siento, señor. But the American Embassy has told us that you needed a car, so here it is."

Schofield glanced at the truck. "Oh. Sorry. Thank you." He turned and spoke quickly to Mother and Rebound. "Drive with Princeton and Lowe to the town to take this guy back. Can you also pick up some food? We're running a bit low. And don't get crap, Rebound, because I know you will." Rebound rolled his eyes as Schofield handed them a wad of bills and sent them on their way.

"Hare, Ruger, continue checking the weapons. We don't want to be caught with our guard down." He turned around and went back into the building.

Less than an hour later, a car came rumbling down the dirt road. It stopped outside the building and Schofield went to the open door. "Excuse me, can I help you? He leaned on the doorframe, but straightened up when he saw who stepped out.

"I sure hope you can help me. Where's the nearest McDonald's?" Gant said as she got out of the car.

"Fox! Weren't you supposed to come tomorrow?"

Schofield ran over to the car and grabbed her bag for her. She shrugged.

"I got cleared early and I was itching to get out here, so… I came."

Schofield gestured towards the small building and they walked towards it.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you earlier. Trent joined us. He's inside."

"That's great! So we have… nine people now? That should be more than enough."

Schofield nodded. "Come on, we'll get you settled."

Curry and Hare watched as the two disappeared into the small building.

"It looks like our team is finally complete." Hare said as he looked down the barrel of an M-16E assault rifle. He looked over the sights, trigger and silencer to make sure they hadn't been broken or tampered with.

Curry glanced back at the building and saw Gant, Hawk and Schofield walk out.

"How are the weapons checking out?" Schofield asked as he approached with the others.

"Great, sir. We had one problem with one of the MP-5's. The trigger was jammed." Hare replied, holding up the defective pistol.

Schofield looked at it for a few seconds, then handed it back to Hare. "You fixed it?"

"Yes, sir. Just call me Hare the Handyman." Hare replied as he put the pistol back with the others.

Schofield chuckled, then turned to Gant and Hawk. "Fox, Hawk, I'm assigning you to test the diving gear. You know, calibrate the depth gauges, test the air mix, etc."

Gant rolled her eyes. "How come I'm always testing the diving gear?"

Schofield grinned and showed the two of them where the diving gear was. "Oh come on, Fox. You know you love it!" He walked back to the building, laughing to himself.

"So how deep of a dive do you expect this to be, sir?" Gant asked when Schofield rejoined them after informing Riggs that she had arrived.

"Three hours max. The scientists reports state that their emergency dives are two and a half, so we should have some air left over."

"Emergency dives?" Curry asked from a few feet away, fiddling with a Magnum clip.

Schofield turned to look at him. "There is an entrance to the lab by land, but some seismic activity has left it beyond repair. Or at least beyond repair in the timeframe we have. We're going by sea. There's an underwater entrance that will be easy to spot… hopefully."

Everyone returned to the work at hand and wondered what seismic activity could block off an entrance to a government lab.


	7. Part 7

Disclaimer: I really don't own anything but a stereo and a few CDs… so unless you want crappy music (actually, I DID have someone steal my Gladiator CD that skipped… what an idiot!) don't sue me, because I own nothing of value.

*******

The sun beat down hard upon their backs. Curry, Schofield and Gant were the only ones left working outside. Hare and Hawk were dismissed to rest half an hour earlier and Mother, Rebound, Princeton and Lowe were still in La Serena.

Curry and Schofield had taken off their stifling wool fatigue shirts so that Curry was in an army green wifebeater and Schofield was shirtless. Gant swiped at the rivulets of sweat on her forehead. She knelt down over a pair of scuba tanks and took in a sharp breath, wincing, visibly in pain.

 Schofield noticed and caught her attention. "Hey, you okay?"

She nodded weakly, then after the pain had passed, she smiled. "Yeah. Just the damn bullet wound again."

"Hola señors y señora!" A voice rang out. "Did you miss us?"

The three marines turned and saw the truck that had been lent to them bounding up the dirt road. Mother was leaning out the window.

"It's actually señorita, Mother. I'm not married." Gant said as Mother, Rebound, Princeton and Lowe climbed out of the truck.

Mother eyed Schofield and Gant, then chuckled. "We'll see, Fox, we'll see." She picked some paper bags out of the seat beside her and went into the building.

Rebound and Princeton gathered the rest of the bags from the back of the truck.

"We picked up some groceries. I'm assuming we have a refrigerator, sir?" Rebound asked as he pulled a large cooler out of the truck.

"That's correct. We've been ordered to move in two days from now at 0800 hours, so I hope you bought enough food to last us." Schofield replied as he helped unload the shopping bags.

"I dunno. Rebound here might eat it all before we leave." Mother grinned and poked Rebound in the ribs.

He playfully slapped her hand away and rolled his eyes, smiling. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Poke fun, whatever. You're the one who eats everything, you pig."

Mother's jaw dropped and she started laughing. "You little-"

"Alright guys, break it up. There's enough food to feed both of you and the rest of us, so no worries." Schofield headed back outside.

"Aw, it's damn fucking scorching out here." Princeton replied as they picked up the weapons to be taken back inside.

"Well, get used to it. We're going to be here for another two days at least." Schofield remarked before wiping his forehead and calling everyone outside. "I'm putting everyone here on a strict training schedule. It's getting late, so I say we all head to our bunks." With that, Schofield sent everyone into the small brown building. He then bent down and began collecting all of the weapons. He reasoned that, even though they were pretty much alone, he didn't want some terrorist group finding a bunch of free guns at their disposal. He almost jumped when a hand came in front of his face. He straightened and frowned when he saw Libby Gant. "Fox, you should be in there, getting some sleep."

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "I got enough sleep during my coma, sir. And on the plane trip out here. Let me give you a hand."

"No, Fox, as your commanding officer, I order you to - "

He was cut off as Gant thrust the oxygen tanks into his arms.

"Don't want anybody taking these." She smiled, then bent down again to pick up the remaining weapons. "Let's get these inside, shall we?" She walked past a stunned Schofield into the small storage room/kitchen in their 'accommodations'.

Schofield shook his head, then followed her in. Dumping the oxygen tanks on the floor, he turned towards Gant. "Listen, Fox, if your wound still acts up, don't feel you have to do the workout. I don't expect you to."

She smiled. "Oh, I'll do it and I'll kick everyone's ass at it… sir." She added quickly, slightly embarrassed at how she was talking to her senior officer. "Speaking of my wound, sir…" She began, but stopped when she realized he wasn't listening.

He was at the doorway of the small compound, looking at the sunset.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She said, approaching from behind him. He spun around, then cleared his throat, as if nervous.

"Yeah. We should both really get some rest. Breakfast is at 0700, that is providing Rebound actually bought food we can eat." Schofield laughed, heading towards his bunk. "Good night, Fox."

"Good night, sir." Gant turned, heading towards her own bunk.

**BRRING**

"What is that ungodly noise?" Someone cried out.

The overhead light was switched on, and the response was groans and people covering their eyes.

"Everyone up! We have a packed day and you need energy!" Schofield ordered.

"If we need energy, then why can't we sleep for another two hours?" Mother said, rubbing her eyes as she sat up.

"Because I said so. I will **not** have another Wilkes, Mother. Now everyone up NOW!" He left the room and the rest of the marines went back to sleep.

A few minutes later there were thundering footsteps in the hallway and gunfire.

"Holy shit! Everyone up NOW! Christ Almighty, someone knows we're here and they don't like it! We're being attacked!" Schofield yelled as he began dragging the Marines out of their beds. Everyone scrambled for their uniforms, but Schofield stopped them.

"There's no time! Fight in what you're wearing!" He raced out of the door to the bunks.

The rest of the Marines tore after him and, readying themselves for battle, they reached the door to the building.

There was no one out there, but Schofield laughing so hard his face was red.

"Why you sick son of a-" Mother started.

"Hey, I am your commanding officer and when I tell you do something, you do it. None of you did, so I used the means necessary to get you to obey me." He fought to hide his smile and failed. "It worked didn't it?"

"You are the devil, Scarecrow." Rebound gasped as Schofield counted out Rebound 231st chin-up.

"Only 69 to go, Rebound." Schofield walked around to the exterior of the building and began doing push-ups on the scorched ground. He decided that if he was putting his team through this hell, then he might as well go through it too.

He reached 300 in no time and got up on his feet to blow a whistle that was hanging around his neck.

"Marines to the front of the building!" He called out sharply.

As they regrouped, Schofield looked closely at each one.

Princeton looked tired and sweaty, but she still had a smile on her face.

Hare, surprisingly, looked just as he did when he woke up.

Rebound and Curry looked thoroughly beaten, but kept reassuring him that they were all right to keep going.

Mother just looked pissed. She was still ticked at Schofield for the morning's 'wake-up call'.

He was mostly worried about Gant. She was pale and looked ready to pass out. He decided to advise her to have some rest.

"Alright everyone, see that tree over there?" They nodded. "And the small boulder about 200 yards to the right?" Again, they nodded affirmative. "Okay then. I want you all to run from the tree to the boulder to the car. Keep running that circuit until I tell you to stop." Schofield nodded towards the track and the marines, save for two, jogged around the course. Schofield stopped Gant as she went to follow the others.

"Sir?"

"Fox, you're sitting out on this one." He said sternly.

"May I inquire why, sir?" She huffed, angry that he thought she couldn't do it.

"Let's see… well, for the most part, you look like you're going to faint. Go get some rest."

"Sir, I'm fine." She went to join the others, but again, he stopped her.

"You have no say in this, Fox. I'm concerned for your wellbeing, alright?"

She turned to face him. "I can handle it, sir. You of all people should know what the human body can withstand." She immediately regretted her words when she saw him wince.

"I'm sorry, Fox, but I'm not taking that risk. Go get some rest." He saw Gant's jaw clench. "That's an order."


	8. Part 8

Disclaimer: Again, I don't own the characters… they are the product of Matthew Reilly's brilliant imagination.

Gant slumped down on her bunk, thoroughly exhausted. She was glad to have the rest, though she hated to admit it. Her wound still bothered her, but she felt like she was letting the rest of the team down by sitting out on the workout. She was angry with Schofield for humiliating her in front of the team, making her feel helpless and weak. Crossing her arms, she fumed silently in the empty room.

The door swung open about a half an hour later and the rest of the team, minus Shane Schofield, dragged themselves in. Gant sat straight up and pretended she had been stretching the whole time.

"Hey Fox. Whassup?" Rebound said sarcastically. Unfortunately, this led to echoes of 'Whassup!' imitations of the beer commercial. Hare finally had enough of it and got up to talk to the team's leader.

He approached the small office at the front of the building and saw Schofield sitting in a chair behind the desk with his hands covering his face.

"Sir?" Hare asked, entering the room. Schofield didn't reply. "Sir?" Still Nothing. "Lieutenant?" Schofield head snapped up and Hare grimaced. Schofield's eyes widened and he snatched up his sunglasses from the desk, hurriedly replacing them over his eyes.

"Yes, Hare?"

Hare stood stunned. He couldn't speak or react, all he could think about were Schofield's eyes.

Schofield shifted uneasily in his chair. _Shit. He hadn't meant for anyone to see him without his sunglasses. "Corporal!" He said harshly, snapping Hare back to reality._

"Sir, this morning you said you didn't want another Wilkes." He hesitated, so Schofield pressed him.

"Yes… and?"

"Sooner or later you're going to have to tell us what happened down there."

"Am I? Why is that?"

Hare was slightly alarmed at the calmness in Schofield's voice. Just an hour earlier, he was barking orders. "Sir, I am an experienced soldier. I have seen, heard, smelt, felt everything and anything the Marines can throw at me. Even if you do not tell the others, please feel that you can confide in me. This incident at Wilkes has disturbed you, that much I can see. I've seen it happen before, sir. Soldiers see or hear something that changes them, yet they tell no one about it and eventually it drives them to madness, unable to shake the visions of the past. Please, sir, what happened at Wilkes?"

Schofield sighed, knowing what Hare said was true, because he had seen it happen. One of the men he had trained with overseas a long time ago had watched his own brother die during a raid. Everyone kept telling him to let it go because he could never bring his brother back. But the young man slowly went mad, torturing himself by replaying the bloody scene in his head again and again. Schofield remembered hearing the gunshot ring through the camp. At first, trainees thought it was a raid, but there were no follow-up gunshots. Eventually, someone found his body and the family was notified, just a few weeks after their first son's death, that their youngest son had died as well.

Schofield looked up at Hare and nodded to the chair opposite him. Hare sat down and Schofield began the story.

"About a month ago, my team was off Antarctica training in extreme conditions. A radio message we received informed us of a station not far from McMurdo that held a supposed spaceship. Needless to say, our superiors told us to go and confirm this information. Unfortunately, commandos from the French station, D'Urville, had also received the message and they attacked us. Many of my men were killed in that attack, but more died when the British decided to get in on the action and thundered in with hovercrafts. My depleted team killed them as well, but it turned out that two of the men under my command were working for another agency, the ICG, who wanted to kill us because we had knowledge of the 'spaceship'. I killed one of them, and an elephant seal killed the other just as he was about to shoot Fox. She barely escaped with her life. The USMC was told I was dead, but, luckily, we made it back in, well, close to one piece and that was corrected. I had a few broken ribs and Fox was in a coma from blood loss for a week." Schofield sighed, then put his head in his hands, exhausted. "That's basically the gist of what happened down there."

"Holy fuck." Hare said softly. Then there was a pause and he asked, "Why did you decide to stay in the Marines if this has bothered you so much?"

Schofield looked up, then pursed his lips in thought. "Well, I love it. This is the best job I've ever had." He grinned. "You know, before my time in the Air Force, I had a part-time job as a door-to-door salesmen? This is a million times better than that…" He paused. "This actually has helped, Hare. Thanks. I guess I just needed to explain it to someone who wasn't there."

There was a commotion outside and the two men stood up.

"Ruger!" Schofield snapped at a passing figure. It stopped and Curry stuck his head in the doorway.

"Yes, sir?"

"What the hell is going on?"

"We're having a race. Rebound and Hawk versus Princeton and Fox."

"I'm sorry, you're having a what?"

"Okay, first two runners at the starting line! Rules: No cheating and that means you Rebound!" Mother joked, "On your marks, get set… GO!"

Rebound and Princeton sprinted along a dark line that the others had somehow marked on the ground. Rebound was slightly ahead when they reached the end of the line and the other two runners: Hawk and Gant. Rebound tagged Hawk a few seconds before Princeton tagged Gant.

Schofield, Hare, Curry, Mother and Lowe watched as the two runners suddenly drew even, rapidly gaining speed.

Then Schofield saw Gant grab her side. He started for her just as she groaned and began to faint. He caught her just before she reached the ground. The other team members were rushing in their direction, the race forgotten.

"Get the smelling salts and an ice pack." Schofield barked, carrying Gant to her bunk. When he saw everyone just standing there, he yelled, "NOW!" That startled a flurry of action in the team.

"Princeton, you're the medic on the team. Get to work." He glanced at Gant again, the ordered the rest back outside for more training.

Gant slowly opened her eyes and saw Princeton and Schofield standing over her.

"Fox, can you hear me?" Princeton asked.

Gant nodded as she looked up at Schofield, feeling the guilt burn in the pit of her stomach. His eyebrows were curved in an angry expression and his mouth was a hard line.

"You fainted, Fox. But you'll be all right. It seems that you overdid it with this heat and your recent injury." Princeton smiled and patted Gant's shoulder. "Just get some rest and you'll be as good as new." She checked over Gant's vitals again, then left.

Gant gulped at the echo of the command Schofield had given only hours previous. He stared at her for a few moments, then turned away.

"Sir, I-" She stopped, then squeezed her eyes shut to urge herself to keep speaking. When she opened her eyes, Schofield was staring intently at her, waiting for her to continue. "Sir, I apologize for my behaviour earlier, I had no right to speak to you like that and I'm sorry."

She saw the corner of his mouth twitch.

"You had every right to say what you said, Fox. Just… try and get some sleep." He turned away again.

"But sir, I spoke disrespectfully to a superior officer and I disobeyed your command. Shouldn't I be reprimanded or something?" She watched as he turned back around, a painful expression on his face.

"Superior officer…" He mumbled softly to himself, then realized she was staring at him. "Punishment? No… you don't deserve any punishment. Since when does anyone get punished for telling the truth?"

"When their superiors refuse to accept the past." Gant said softly, almost too soft to hear. Almost.

Schofield sat down beside her on the small bunk. "This is about my eyes, isn't it?"

"I don't understand why you feel the need to hide them. Many other soldiers have distinguishing marks that they reveal publicly." Gant made sure not to use the word 'scar' or 'disfigurement'.

Schofield shook his head and closed his eyes. "No, you don't understand. The way people stare at you is completely different from the way they stare at me when I'm without my sunglasses. The stares you get are appraising while the stares I get show people's disgust and horror. The reason I wear my sunglasses is so that I don't have to go through that everyday. You say they're fine, but when you see my eyes, you wince. Everyone does. Then the room goes silent and no one has anything to talk about because they're thinking about my eyes and how NOT to bring them up in a conversation." He sighed, then continued, "Look, I remember when you saw them at Wilkes. When everyone saw them. All of you pretended you didn't notice, but I saw the flicker of horror and disgust. That's what I hide from. These sunglasses are my fucking saviour… I'm sorry, I didn't want to get into this with you, but…" He started to get up, angry with himself for revealing so many of his feelings about his scars.

Gant stopped him by putting a hand on his arm. She went out on a whim and took his sunglasses from him. He went to grab them back, but she quickly placed them over her own eyes. "Jeez, these are dark. How do you see with them on at night?"

He gave her an exasperated look. "Fox…"

"When I first saw your eyes, I admit I was shocked.  I was not horrified. Believe me. I got interested on how you got the scars and asked Book. He told me everything. How you used to be in the Air Force and during a patrol over a no-fly zone, you were shot down. How they cut your eyes, locked you in a closet and left you there to die." Schofield was shocked at the tears that had started to form in her eyes. "Book told me that when he was sent in to rescue you, you were a mess and that after they fixed your eyes, you weren't allowed to fly again-"

"Okay, god, I remember!" He finally snapped. He closed his eyes briefly. "Worst time of my life and you had to remind me."

She looked stricken. "Oh god, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring up any old memories, I just… wanted you to know that I don't care. Nobody on this team cares about your scars, okay? You are the best leader they've ever had, Shane. I mean, the sunglasses are your trademark, but…" She broke off when she heard him chuckle.

"I should probably let you sleep…" He looked hesitant to leave, so she sat up and gave him his glasses back.

"Just don't bump into anything. Those things are really dark."

He smiled and touched her cheek briefly. "I won't. I'll be careful, just as long as you are as well." He replied softly.

She nodded slowly before suddenly remembering that this was her senior officer. She straightened up and smiled quickly. "Sure, sir. I'll be ready to go in no time."

At the sudden change in her attitude, Schofield replaced the sunglasses over his eyes and stood up. "Uh… right. I'll go see what everyone else is doing."

He left the room in a daze, wondering what had just happened. The other team members had begun what looked like a fierce soccer game outside, but Schofield ignored them.

He diverted his mind from the conversation he had had with Gant and focused on the information Lowe had given him earlier about the _Constitution's demise. Two diving teams went down, but never returned and there was a team of missing scientists. __It's starting to sound like Wilkes all over again. Schofield thought miserably. He knew the thing that had sped towards the boat before the explosion was most likely a torpedo, but after Wilkes, Schofield wasn't sure about anything anymore._


	9. Part 9

Disclaimer: Arg, having to do this all the time is annoying… don't own anything, the characters are Matt Reilly's… just read… and review….

The team trudged through the inky blackness, their steps crunching on the dry earth. Schofield figured a short jog before the briefing would keep the team members awake long enough for him to explain their plans.

"What's with the death march, sir?" Hare asked jokingly.

"Good exercise. Plus it will help you sleep." Schofield replied, grinning. They came to a stop outside the building and stretched.

"Alright, we'll grab something to eat and meet in the office at 2100 hours." Schofield addressed the weary team before they went inside.

Hawk sat down at the small table in the tiny kitchen and glanced around. Rebound, Curry and Mother were sitting at the table with him. Hare, Princeton and Lowe were sitting on the floor with their backs against the wall and plates on their laps while Schofield and Gant were standing up, eating at opposite ends of the kitchen.

"Hey, where's the gray poupon?" He joked. Everyone started laughing and before they knew it, a joke contest had started.

"No, no! I've got one," Curry started over the noise, "A priest, a garbage man and Madonna walk into a bar-"

Hawk rolled his eyes and tuned out the joke. Instead, he noticed Gant staring at Scarecrow. Schofield didn't seem to notice and Gant turned her eyes back to Curry, who was still ranting. Hawk then saw Schofield look up at Gant, who was oblivious and he, after a few moments, turned his attention back to Curry. Hawk watched the two repeat the cycle unknowingly for as long as five minutes before a sudden moaning disturbed his concentration.

"Aw that was horrible!" Mother gagged as Curry grinned.

"Man that sucked. Who's got a better one?" Princeton asked through a mouthful of food.

Hawk saw Schofield put his plate down and leave the room quietly. Hawk followed.

"Scarecrow?" Hawk watched the lean figure that rested against a window.

"What?" Schofield asked, turning.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"It's kind of personal."

Schofield paused. Personal questions were usually about his eyes and he wasn't sure that he wanted to talk about them so soon after his bare-all conversation with Fox.

"What's going on with you and Fox?" Hawk asked, interrupting the silence.

Schofield turned and looked Hawk in the eye, wondering if he had heard right.

"Excuse me?"

"What's going on between you and Fox? And don't lie to me, I can sense these things."

Schofield felt his cheeks heat up at the question. "Nothing." He said after a moment's pause. "She is a member of my team and I am the team's leader. That's it. You know I take care of my Marines."

Hawk put his hands up in a defensive gesture. "I know. No need to get protective. I just saw you guys staring blatantly at each other in the kitchen and was wondering whether there was anything behind those heated glances or what." Hawk snuffed his laughter. The expression on Schofield's face was one of disbelief and surprise. It was obvious that the two had feelings for each other, but were afraid to admit it for various reasons.

"Give it up, Hare. We're just friends."

Hare grinned. "Ah yes. The 'we're just friends' line. Typical, typical."

"Jesus, when we're on leave, everyone gossips like old ladies."

"We can't help it. There's nothing else to do." Hawk replied, chuckling. "Nothing but think and toil in others love lives." He continued seriously. "You've been different lately Scarecrow."

"Different how?"

"You haven't been yourself since the mission in Antarctica."

"Bad stuff happened down there, Andrew."

"You've been too quiet, Shane. Did all that crap really bother you that much?"

Schofield nodded. "Yeah, it did. Two men, Hawk. Two fucking men in my unit from the ICG! Jesus!" He turned away, disgusted. "That's why I'm glad you're here. I'm paranoid that someone here is going to turn out to be involved with the ICG."

"Fat chance of that happening. Most of them are out of service, Scarecrow. 'Pressure from above' I like to call it. Of course, there were a few individuals who were so high up that they could apply some of their own pressure and there were those who flat out denied it and people believed them." Hawk sighed. "What I'm trying to say is that it's virtually impossible that anyone here is ICG. They'd either be gone or I would know it." He grinned and Schofield slowly smiled.

"Yeah… you're right." He clapped a hand on Hawk's shoulder. "Well, time for the briefing."

"Oh joy!" Hawk replied with fake enthusiasm.

"Here's the plan, Marines." Schofield stood behind the desk in the small office; all of his Marines were seated in front of him. "Our orders are to find out what happened to a) the scientists in the SAL and b) the U.S. Navy's ship the _Constitution_. Hawk will stay here as our radio contact while the rest of us head out to the location of the last whereabouts of the ship. Officer Lowe and Mother will stay on our transport."

"Any reason why, sir?" Mother inquired, accepting the fact that she has to stay out of action. Schofield had addressed her before they left for Chile that because of her leg; she wouldn't be able to get in the thick of everything.

"You'll be watching for any surface action. The most probable explanation for the _Constitution_'s disappearance is an attack. Most likely a nuclear attack. Watch for any suspicious ships, planes, subs, you name it, I want to know about it. To the rest of you- that means six of us have a three-hour dive. I'm pairing everyone up. You are responsible for keeping your partner covered. If one of you is wounded, use your radio to contact Princeton. Oh, that's another thing, do NOT split up at any cost. We don't know what's down there or who may be waiting for us. Be sharp."

Author's Note: I will continue this soon. I am one of those dumb people who writes out things in notebooks and then transfers them onto computer… the story is almost finished on paper, I just need to get around to putting them into electronic form.


	10. Part 10

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, except those who were not in Matthew Reilly's novel Ice Station, I take credit for those.

Author's Note: The story is almost over, bear with me… I'm posting a few more chapters today and I'm hoping to get a lot more of it transferred to the computer over the next week (now that midterms are over)!!

ICE STATION CONTINUED

Part 10

"I've paired everyone up as old with new, meaning old members with new members. Rebound and Hare, Gant, you're with Ruger, and Princeton, you'll be with me. Don't get distracted. I'm hoping this will be a simple in-and-out mission, picking up some information to relay back to headquarters. All of us will be equipped with our radios, body armour and everyone will have an M-16E assault rifle and a Colt .45 with extra clips for both. Again, I stress that if you have a problem, use your headset. That is all. Get a good night's sleep, you'll need it." As everyone filed out of the office, Mother approached Schofield.

"Sir, I appreciate you trying to get me a piece of the action, but I can stay back here with Hawk if you'd prefer it."

Schofield raised an eyebrow, then smiled.

"Mother, you're a great soldier and I'm sure you'll take good care of Officer Lowe. He's not used to this type of thing."

"Aw, shucks, Scarecrow. You make me blush!" Mother replied sarcastically.

Schofield nodded. "Look, Lowe is a naval officer and he probably hasn't had a first-hand experience with dead bodies, let alone six scientists who could be bloodied up pretty badly."

"I won't let you down." Mother replied, winking before leaving the room.

"Be home by five!" Hawk yelled as the rest of the team departed in the truck. "I don't want you kids getting into any trouble."

Schofield gave him a half-salute with a grin before getting into the truck and speeding off towards the coast to meet the boat provided by USMC.

"There it is." Rebound pointed over the steering wheel towards a small dock with a Zodiac tied to it. The rubber boat with an outboard motor was just large enough for the eight marines and their equipment. They loaded the diving equipment in first before piling in themselves.

"Alright Officer Lowe, this is your job." Schofield raised his voice over the roar of the engine.

Lowe sat at the bow, trying to figure out the location of the _Constitution's demise. He knew they had been only a few miles off the coast where the S.A.L. was located and he told Schofield this._

"Okay, so we head there first. We'll check out the lab while you scout for clues."

Curry almost laughed. It sounded like they were a bunch of kids on television. Solving some great mystery while spouting tired lines and cliches while hunting for clues.

Although Curry had been in previous units, he felt more anxious about this mission than anything he had been through before. His past supervisors and unit leaders were nothing like Lieutenant Schofield. They were strict and socially inept while Schofield, though being strict made Curry feel more at home, like he was among friends. Schofield had an easiness about him that made Curry not want to let him down, especially on this first mission.

"Lieutenant!" Lowe called from the bow of the boat.

"Lieutenant, I'm quite confident that this is the location. The lab should be just a few miles to the west."

"Great. Good work. I know this must be hard for you, but I truly appreciate it. Mother, keep a lookout for anything suspicious."

Schofield turned towards the remaining marines and Curry felt the excitement knot in his stomach.

"Alright guys, suit up and grab a tank. Keep close to me and I'll signal when we get there."

The six marines donned their wetsuits and helmets. Curry helped Gant strap on her oxygen tank and then she helped him with his own. He heard his radio crackle.

_Rebound and Hare are to go first, then Fox and Ruger and __Princeton__ and I will take up the rear._

Curry watched as the first two team members splashed into the dark Pacific waters. Gant gave him a thumbs up and they jumped over the side of the boat. He felt the cold bite into his wetsuit, making him shiver. There was another splash and two figures were suddenly in front of him.

_You okay, Ruger?_ He heard Schofield's voice over his radio, and then one of the two figures in front of him gave a thumbs up. It was Schofield and Princeton.

"Yes, sir. I'm fine." He replied.

_Good, this would be hard without you. Now let's go._ Schofield waved Gant and Curry forward. _Hawk, Mother, mark time as 0830 hrs. If we're not back by 1700 hrs, report back to USMC headquarters immediately. I don't want you risking your lives for what may be a lost cause. Is that understood? Curry's radio crackled again._

_Yes, Scarecrow._ Hawk responded.

_Sure, sir, but we all know that's not going to happen, don't we? Be careful, Scarecrow. You deserve a long vacation after this._ Mother replied. Curry could hear her laughing.

_Thanks, Mother. Okay, Fox, Ruger, stay close to me. We have to catch up to Rebound and Hare._

The four marines simultaneously dove downwards, trying to catch a glimpse of the others.

_Rebound, Hare, take a breather while we try to catch up._ Schofield chuckled.

_Sorry, sir. I guess we got a bit carried away._ Hare replied.

Schofield, Princeton, Gant and Curry finally saw two shadowy forms in front of them.

"How much farther do you believe it is, sir?" Curry inquired, as he looked around instinctively, fearful of what the dark waters might hold.

_Maybe a few hundred metres. We've been diving for an hour and a half._

Many minutes passed as the six divers continued to swim towards the bottom of the ocean.

Suddenly, Schofield stopped them all. He informed them that they had to swim due west for about ten minutes to reach the side of the cliff in which the lab was built. Curry felt excited, anxious and nervous all at the same time.

They arrived at a large overhang jutting out from the cliff's side. There was a large chunk of rock missing from it and the rock face surrounding the hole was scorched black.

_What do you think happened, sir?_ Rebound asked, touching the black surface.

_The answer lies within._ Schofield replied in a tone that sent shivers through his Marines. 

_This lab supposedly has a radio. I'm hoping that whatever did this left evidence… as in a radio message._ He explained before swimming under the overhang. He arrived at a small metal cover placed in the rock above his head. There was a handle on it and an arrow pointing to the left. Schofield took hold of the handle and twisted it to the left. There was a hissing noise and a spray of bubbles shot out from a gap in the metal. Schofield pushed upward on the cover and it popped out of its space to fall back on its hinges.

 _Follow me up one by one and each pair will take a section of the lab. Schofield ordered before reaching up through the opening and pulling himself through it._


	11. Part 11

ICE STATION CONTINUED

Part 11

"No sign of anything yet, Scarecrow." Mother sighed into the radio. She looked out across the ocean. "How can you stand being in the Navy? I mean, the landscape does nothing for me." She glanced over at Lowe, who was hunched over the bow.

"I loved the sea. Used to live on the coast, so I'm used to the landscape." Lowe turned towards her. "What about you?"

She furrowed her brow. "What about me?"

"Why this lifestyle? Why the marines?"

Mother sighed and shrugged. "Suited me, I guess. Besides, Scarecrow's a great leader. He makes the lifestyle a bit easier. He wouldn't lead us into something he knew we couldn't handle."

Lowe nodded then hunched over the bow again, looking down into the water.

_Mother, we've entered the lab._

"Copy that, Scarecrow." She replied, wishing she was down there with them, in the thick of the action, but knowing it was probably safer for her on the surface.

The lab was dark; some areas smashed by large blocks of ceiling that broke off somehow. Only four out of the six areas were accessible because two doorways had been blocked by debris too large or heavy to move.

Gant and Curry were assigned to the room where the scientists took their seismic readings, or what they had dubbed the "Reading Room".

Gant covered up one of the two bodies lying on the floor. 

"I wonder what killed them." She thought aloud.

"Earthquake?" Curry mused. He held up what looked like a sheet of paper with squiggly lines on it. Gant walked over to him and took the paper.

Curry pointed at one spot on the paper where there was a wide squiggle before the paper went blank. "Look here. This shows a very high seismic level. Whatever hit them, be it an earthquake or… whatever, it knocked out their equipment right after it hit."

Gant looked at him, impressed. "How do you know all this?"

"My father was an earthquake fanatic. You know, one of those people who saves the articles from newspapers and goes to take pictures of the disaster sights. He showed me one of these graphs and taught me how to read them." He turned to pick up another graph.

"That's really cool." Gant smiled. "So where's your dad now?"

Curry coughed slightly. "He got caught up in his work… literally. He died a few years ago in a quake in San Francisco."

"Oh, I'm-"

He turned sharply towards her. "It's okay. It's not your fault… not anyone's fault really. I've accepted his death as something natural, something that was impossible to avoid." He sighed. "Anyway, I've gotten over it. Can't dwell on things in the past, you know?"

Gant smiled softly. "Yeah… I know exactly what you mean."

"Why is that?" He asked, curious about her past.

"I just mean I agree with that logic. If you can't change what happened then, what's the point of analyzing it to death?" She shook her head to clear it, then looked back down at the cluttered research station. 

"Should we take these to Scarecrow?" She asked after a few minutes.

"I dunno, I'm new at this. What do you think?"

Gant chuckled. "I think if we're going to be partners and teammates for awhile, then I think I should teach you a few things. And yes, I think we should take these to Scarecrow, but not now. Let's look around a bit more, maybe we'll find evidence of foul play." She grinned at him, dramatizing the last two words.

There was a long pause before Curry spoke.

"Can I ask you something?"

Gant looked up from a seismograph that had smashed on the floor. "It depends on what the subject is."

"Scarecrow."

She turned away from him slightly, trying to fight a blush. "Uh-huh."

Curry took a deep breath. "I mean, this is something that will kill me if I don't find out."

"What do you want to know?" She winced, embarrassed that another one of her teammates had found out about her feelings for the Lieutenant.

"Why is his call sign 'Scarecrow'?"

Gant swung around to look Curry in the eyes and raised her eyebrows questionably. Curry noticed and narrowed his eyes.

"You know don't you?"

Gant bit her lip, then sighed. "I'm not sure I should tell you."

"Why?"

She leaned against the desk behind her. "Because other than Scarecrow himself, I'm probably the only one on the team who knows the answer to your question."

Curry glanced from side to side before furrowing his brow and looking at Gant.

"Why is that? Did he tell you himself?"

She shook her head. "No, no. He's too self-conscious. One of our old team members told me the whole story. It's not pretty and I don't think Scarecrow really wants anyone to know." She glanced around the room before announcing. "Doesn't look like there's much else here that's important. We'll take the graphs to the kitchen." She straightened up and walked to where Curry was standing before reaching around him to grab the papers. "Are you curious about anyone else's call sign? Rebound's? Mine?"

"I know where yours came from, I'm pretty sure." Curry said softly before heading out of the room.

"You know, that could probably be considered sexual harassment!" Gant replied, loud enough for him to hear. She heard him laughing as he walked away. "Is he going to be let down…" She chuckled as she followed him to the kitchen. She almost tripped over Schofield as she walked through the doorway. "Another body, sir?"

He straightened up and nodded grimly. "We've found three in here and Ruger just informed me of the two you found in the seismic readings room… that's five. There should be one more body around here somewhere. Rebound or Hare come in…" Schofield waited for a reply from either marine.

_Scarecrow, this is Hare. I think you should look at this._

Schofield swiftly stepped past Gant and towards the scientists bunk area. Gant followed him, waving the graphs in her hand.

"Sir, Scarecrow!" She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw what was inside the scientists living quarters.

A man was hanging from a steel beam in the ceiling by what looked like a tie. He was dead.

"Suicide? Gant finally managed.

Hare shrugged. "Looks like it. We found this at his feet." He handed a worn blue book over to Schofield. "It's a journal. Maybe if we read through it, we'll find something."

Rebound, meanwhile, had somehow gotten up to the steel beam and was cutting the tie. "Watch out everybody. This guy's a comin' down!" He cut the last thread and the body fell to the floor with a _thump. Hare quickly covered it up with a blanket from one of the beds before hauling it into the kitchen with the other bodies._

Schofield was flipping through the journal, reading entries that were written in small, cramped, barely legible handwriting. He narrowed his eyes, trying to make the writing seem clearer. It didn't help.

He finally gave up. "Fuck this. Can anyone else read this?" He asked aloud.

Rebound, Gant and Curry walked over to him.

"Let me see. My mother had really horrible handwriting." Curry said, taking the book from Schofield. He opened it up to a random page and read aloud.

"February 16th - High seismic readings for the past week. We're not sure what's causing it. Roger thinks it's probably an erupted underwater volcano, but none of us have known one to last a week. We had a little Valentine's Day celebration a few days ago and some of us got a little drunk. When the quake hit, we've gotten pretty used to them by now, Abe fell over and hit his head pretty badly. Speaking of Valentine's, I'm getting pretty sick of Sam and Leslie. Sam, who's heading this whole research project, has no fucking idea that Leslie's got it bad for him. Meanwhile, Leslie, who doesn't know he's got it bad for her too, doesn't want to say anything because she's afraid someone higher up will find out and that'll be the end of her scientific career. It's-"

"Alright, I think we're heard enough." Schofield interrupted. The entry hit a little too close to home with him, considering his complex relationship with Gant. "Skip to a later entry."

Curry flipped through the pages, scanning some of them or merely looking at the dates before moving on.

"I'll read the last entry." He flipped to the back of the book and began reading.

"June 12th - Something hit the lab. Everyone's dead but me and the land access is caved in. Caroline and Abe were in the front lab with the seismographs when it blew up. They probably died instantly. Sam and Leslie were in the kitchen, most likely talking or kissing. The ceiling fell in on them. I'm just happy that they admitted their feelings to each other before they died. Roger was in the radio room, screaming something about the Japanese, when the second explosion came. He was thrown into the kitchen and died when the refrigerator fell on top of him. I was in the bunk area, too afraid to move. Luckily it's more inland than the other rooms. The quakes ceased for a while, then started up only an hour ago. I'm trapped here. I'm going to die."

Curry looked up from the journal before closing it. "That's the end, sir." He said as he handed the book back to Schofield.

Schofield nodded slowly. "Damn, I wish that radio hadn't been busted."

Rebound and Gant turned towards him simultaneously. It was Rebound who spoke first.

"What do you mean, sir?"

"I checked out the radio communications room. Everything is destroyed." He said softly, trying to piece everything together. High seismic readings, earthquakes, explosions, the Japanese? It all fit together somehow. Something about the dates of the two entries was mildly suspicious, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"So what do we do now?" Gant's voice cut into his thoughts.

He turned and looked at her. "See if we can find anything useful in here. Hare, Princeton, once you're finished in there, come to the bunk area." He said into his headset. He turned towards the other three. "Let's search the bunks, see if we can find anything."

Gant and Curry moved to one side while Schofield and Rebound took the other side.

"What exactly are we looking for, sir?" Rebound asked as he pulled a large trunk from underneath a bed.

"I don't know. Anything that may be a clue or… something! Anything! Nothing in that journal connects. There has to be _something." Schofield found a duffel bag beside a bunk and practically ripped it open._

After a few minutes, Rebound closed the trunk and shrugged. "Nothing in here. What about you, Fox?" He called out.

Gant poked her head up from behind a bed. "Nothing yet." She said with a small hitch in her voice.

Schofield's head shot up mid-rummage.

"What's the problem?"

"Nothing, sir. Everything's fine, I just found some photographs, that's all." She held them up.

Schofield stood and walked over to her, taking the photos from her hand. He caught a glimpse of Curry, who was visible from the waist down, before he looked at the pictures. They were photos of the scientists, he guessed, at some send-off party. They looked excited and nervous. In one picture, it appeared that they were pretending there was an earthquake… all had smiles on their faces. Schofield put them down and rubbed his eyes with his hand.

"I know they're nothing, sir, but I wasn't sure whether you wanted to see them."

She moved to take the pictures from him, but he stopped her.

"It's alright. We'll take these back to Washington with us. Their families will probably want them." Schofield gulped loudly before turning back towards the door to the bunk area, where Hare and Princeton had just appeared. "Hare, Princeton, grab a bed and start searching for anything that might help us figure out what the hell happened down here."


	12. Part 12

Usual disclaimers apply (I'm getting sick of writing the same thing over and over again).

ICE STATION CONTINUED

Part 12

Lowe grinned as Mother sighed again. She noticed and scowled at him.

"What are you so happy about?"

He shook his head, fighting his laughter. "Nothing… well, they've only been gone four hours."

"Yeah, well, four hours is a shitload of time to be sitting on my ass doing nothing. This is so fucking boring!" She spoke into her radio. "Yo Scarecrow, thinking of packing it up anytime soon?"

There was a pause before Schofield replied, _We'll give you the heads up when we decide to leave. This is the last time I'm going to tell you this, Mother. Find something to do besides bugging me every half-hour._

"I have this funny feeling, Scarecrow. This place creeps me out. The sooner we leave, the better." Mother glanced anxiously around.

_Sit tight and keep a look out. There's something not right here._ Schofield replied.

Mother rolled her eyes. "No shit." She muttered. "So, Lowe, or should I call you James? Or do you have a nickname like the rest of us?"

Lowe racked his brain, trying to remember if he had ever acquired a nickname during his training or service in the Navy. "Well, my friends back home used to call me Jimmy." Then he suddenly grinned, remembering something. "Actually, I do… well did… have a nickname, but it's been a long time since anyone has addressed me by it."

Mother leaned forward, intrigued. "What is it?"

Lowe made a sort of embarrassed face. "When I was 19, just got accepted into the naval academy and everything, my girlfriend at the time came to visit me one weekend. Well, we went up to my room and one thing led to another. We were right in the middle of… it and my supervisor walked in."

Mother erupted in a fit of laughter.

"After that incident, he called me Sex Machine. Needless to say, my girlfriend wasn't happy about it and she broke up with me soon thereafter." He explained over Mother's continued laughter.

"James Lowe… Sex Machine!" Mother grinned, then adopted a mock serious face. "It's Lowe… James Lowe, a.k.a. Sex Machine!" She began laughing again.

Lowe smiled, shaking his head. "Great, just great." He waited until Mother's laughs died down. "Speaking of embarrassing situations, what's up with Schofield and Gant?"

"Oh holy fucking hell, don't even get me started." Mother replied angrily.

"What the fuck is that?" Lowe suddenly yelled, grabbing a pair of binoculars from the seat beside him. He brought them to his eyes as Mother searched the horizon for whatever he was looking at. Then she saw it.

"Wait- it's… what is that?"

Her radio crackled. _Scarecrow, this is Hawk. I'm receiving a message of some sort. It seems to be in Chinese or Japanese; I'm not sure which. Can anyone speak one of those languages?_

There was a short pause.

_I can speak Japanese._ Rebound's voice said through a small amount of static.

_I'm going to hold my headset to the speaker so you can hear it_. Trent said.

The marines heard a shuffling, and then a voice that was unmistakably Japanese reached their ears.

The five marines in the underwater lab watched as Rebound's face went white as a ghost. Then he was screaming into his radio.

"Mother! Get the fuck out of there now! Get back to land! Oh fuck! It's a torpedo! Jesus Christ. Mother? Mother are you there?" Rebound's voice was frantic. Schofield took a deep breath.

"Rebound, what was that message?"

Rebound swallowed the tears that threatened and answered. "It's got to be a Jap sub. They said they had acquired target a few miles off the coast and then they launched a torpedo."

Schofield immediately took charge. "We don't know that it's headed towards Mother and Lowe. We can't do anything from down here except try to establish contact with the."

There was a long silence and Schofield put his hands over his face. A sudden buzz in their ears made them all jump.

_Rebound, what the hell is wrong with you? Is there any reason why - _there was a short pause - _What? What did you say, Lowe? - again, another pause - _Oh shit! Torpedo! Torpedo!_ -  then there was static._

"Mother, are you there?" Schofield yelled into his radio. "Hawk, do you detect any strange signals in the near vicinity?"

_Uh… no, sir. There's nothing. They must have a cloaking device_.

"A cloaking device in a sub isn't unusual. We'll have to report this to headquarters." He sighed, trying to think, to be strong, as a leader should be. "Do we have enough air to get back up?" He turned to Gant.

She frowned." The trip down was a lot longer than we anticipated. I think we have about an hour left in each of the tanks."

_Scarecrow! There's another message coming through!_ Hawk yelled anxiously.

"Rebound?"

Rebound was already furrowing his brow, trying to interpret the message. Then his eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened.

"They've launched another torpedo." Then he looked confused. "But there are no signals left in the area. What are they firing at?"

His question was answered with a loud explosion from the front rooms. Debris shot towards them and they could smell smoke. The floor shook with the impact of the torpedo, so that the six marines toppled over to land either on the floor or on each other.

"What's that sound?" Gant whispered from somewhere to Schofield's right.

They listened intently and heard large trickling sound. Schofield stood up shakily because there were still explosions and earthquakes occurring. He walked to the doorway of the front lab, bracing himself with his hands against the walls.

"It's water."

Gant, Rebound, Curry, Hare and Princeton followed him.

"Water?" Hare wondered aloud.

They arrived behind Schofield and he gestured towards a large hole in the wall facing the ocean where water was seeping through in enormous amounts. They were soon ankle-deep in water.

"Holy shit!" Princeton exclaimed.

Schofield was already stepping through the doorway, speaking into his radio. "Hawk, we have a large leak in the compound, we're going to try and contain it, but if it continues to leak at this rate, we'll be underwater in about twenty minutes."

_Gotcha, Scarecrow. What do you propose to do if the leak continues?_

"We'll have to get out of here. Do you think the land access is completely destroyed?"

_I don't know. You could open it and see if there's some way to climb out. It'd take a hell of a long time, though. My suggestion is to take the underwater route again._

"We don't have enough oxygen in the tanks." Schofield said grimly.

            _Then you have no choice. Take the land access. If you're not back by 0800 tomorrow I'll head back._

            "Right. We'll stay in contact." Schofield switched off his radio. Gant and Curry were already trying to stuff clothes and various other items in the hole. Hare, Princeton and Rebound went to the small hatch that provided an entrance to the land access passageway.

            _Sir, you should come look at this._ Rebound said in a hesitant voice.

            "I'm headed your way." Schofield strode through the bunk area and into a small closet-like space. A wide hatch was placed in the middle of one of the walls and it was open. He peered in from beside Rebound. Hare and Princeton had gone back to help the other two.

            There was a tall and long shaft with rungs running upward. Schofield could just make out small cavern-like spaces built into the shaft, obviously for resting purposes. He continued looking upward, searching for the top hatch, but all was clothed in blackness.

            "It looks alright to me." Schofield turned towards Rebound with a hopeful look on his face.

            "So why did the journal guy think it was blocked?" Rebound asked curiously.

            Schofield shrugged. "Maybe he was afraid of what was in here. Afraid of the questions he would be asked if he got out. Or maybe it _was _blocked, but further explosions caused whatever was obstructing it to shift. There may be thousands of reasons why he thought it was blocked."

            Rebound too a deep breath. "So… we go up?"

            "Yes, and preferably quite soon. I mean, like now. It's only been a few minutes since we noticed that leak and look…" Schofield moved his feet, causing the now knee-deep water to slosh around him.

            _Sir, we have a large problem here._ Gant's voice sounded tense and nervous.

            Schofield ran into the front lab. "What's the problem?"

            Then he heard a small _ping. The remaining marines were staring at the ten-inch plexiglass observation window directly in front of them._

            _Ping._

            Then Schofield saw it. A large, wide crack spread like a spiderweb over the surface of the window.

            "Shit! That's going to blow any minute! Snap out of it, marines! Get to the hatchway and start climbing. If we get the hatch closed in time, we won't flood the shaft." He barked the orders at them, snapping their attention from the spreading crack.

            The team of five waded through the waist deep water and joined Rebound at the hatchway.

            "Who wants to go first?" Rebound asked. Princeton climbed through the hatchway and began the long ascent to the surface. Hare followed her and Curry climbed through after him. Gant suddenly remembered something.

            "Oh my God, the journal… shit, and the graphs!" Without orders, she ran back to the bunk area and began searching for the papers.

            Rebound turned to Schofield. "What should I do, Scarecrow?"

            "Go." He saw Rebound hesitate. "Rebound, get the fuck into that shaft and start climbing!" Rebound nodded and climbed through into the passageway.

            Schofield waded back to the bunk area and saw Gant rifling through the bed sheets. "Fox, come on, screw the journal. We have to get out of here!"

            Gant jumped at the sound of his voice, a tone of anger mixed with authority and anxiety. "No, that journal has vital information in it."

            Schofield waded over to her and stood right in front of her so that they were face to face. "We're the vital information, Fox. We _know_ what happened. I'm not willing to risk your life for a fucking journal!" He broke off, breathing heavily.

            Gant opened her mouth to snap back at him, but there was a sudden crack, the sound of glass breaking and a rush of water. The water already in the lab was mid-chest, but was rising rapidly with the new seepage.

            Schofield grabbed Gant's wrist and pulled her towards the hatch, now half-submerged.

            "No, wait! I see it!" She yanked her arm away and grabbed the small book that was floating a few feet away.

            Schofield seized her arm again and they half-waded, half-swam towards the hatch.

            "We'll have to duck underwater to get through." Their feet left the floor of the lab so that they were floating, treading water.

            Taking deep breaths, they plunged under the surface, swam through the hatch and re-surfaced inside the shaft. Schofield helped Gant onto the nearest rung before disappearing below the surface again.

            Gant panicked. _What the hell was he doing? Would he resurface again? She began taking shallow breaths, trying to see down into the dark water, the level rising rapidly. Then it stopped. There was a clang of metal and a squeaking of twisting metal from somewhere below her. Then Schofield's head popped up to the surface._

            Gant let out a relieved breath. "What were you doing? Trying to kill yourself?"

            He looked up at her from the water, surprised to see her there. "Why didn't you keep climbing? You shouldn't have waited here."

            Gant stuck out an arm to help him onto the rung below her. "What were you doing?"

            "You didn't answer my question."

            "Well, you didn't answer mine."

            Schofield shook his head. "Just climb. I don't know if that hatch will hold against that type of pressure."

            Gant and Schofield began climbing in silence. They finally reached the small cavern that Schofield had spotted earlier. Gant climbed onto the rock floor and sat down beside Princeton, weary from climbing. Schofield, on the other hand, began pacing the length of the cavern, shaking his head.

            "I can't believe you risked your life for a book!" He said suddenly, turning to face Gant.

            She sprang to her feet. "This could likely be called evidence, Scarecrow. It all points towards what happened here today. With our accounts and what we heard over the radio, it could help bring whoever did this to justice." She said angrily.

            "We could've done that without the book, you know. I would've searched for them anyway, just because of what they did to at least 8 innocent people. They will be brought to justice, I guarantee you Fox, with or without that journal. The fact that you retrieved it is all well and good, but it's not worth your life. Do you understand me?" He stared daggers into her eyes, but Gant could see something else behind the cold mask. His eyes pleaded for her to say 'yes, I understand'. He was worried about her.

            "Yes, sir. I understand." She sat back down and fingered the spine of the journal.

            Schofield turned to speak to the whole team. "We'll rest here for a few minutes. Just long enough to eat a little, have a drink, then we have to resume climbing. So don't get too comfortable."

            "This is comfortable?" Rebound winced as he put a hand behind his back to feel the point of rock aggravating him.

            Curry grinned from beside him, until Rebound punched him in the arm. "Hey!"

            Rebound laughed mischievously before taking out a waterproof container from his pack.

            They began eating in silence, most of them too hungry to talk.

            Princeton poked her head out of the cavern and looked upwards, then downwards. "Why didn't that last scientist climb up this way?" She asked as she pulled her head back in.

            Schofield shrugged. "Either he was too afraid to try or he thought it was caved in." He went to the mouth of the cavern. "We'd better keep climbing. I don't know if that hatch is going to keep closed for much longer."

            Gant went first this time with Hare, Princeton, Rebound, Curry and Schofield, respectively, climbing below her.

            They passed a few more caverns and even a few tunnels that seemed to lead further into the rock. Rebound asked about them.

            "Don't know, don't care. It's not worth investigating. Keep going." Schofield replied, anxiously looking downwards every few minutes, even though the bottom of the shaft had disappeared into the darkness.

            They resumed climbing in silence, the only noises being their breathing and the clang of their boots on the metal rungs.

            Then there was a faint sound below them, yet they didn't stop because they knew what the sound had been. The hatch below them had succumbed to the building pressure of the water and blown open. The marines quickened their pace as they heard the surging water, picturing it rising up to swallow them whole.

            Half an hour passed.

            Schofield glanced down once again, only this time his eyes widened in panic.

"Get a move on, guys." He yelled upwards. The water was in visual range.

Gant yelled something from above him, but he couldn't make it out, so he asked her to repeat it.

"I can see the hatch, Scarecrow. It's… maybe fifty feet above me."

Schofield glanced down again. The water was about forty feet below him and rising quickly. He could see it churning and frothing, almost like it was alive.

"Take two rungs at a time, Fox. We need to keep up the pace, marines. The water is rising quickly."

The team, panting and struggling to beat the powerful waters, quickened their pace.

"Thirty feet, Scarecrow."

The water was twenty feet away. The clang of their feet was lost in the rush of liquid as it rose ominously towards them.

"Fifteen feet, sir."

Schofield could almost feel the flecks of water land on his face.

"Ten feet."

The water lapped at Schofield's feet.

There was a clang and Gant yelled, "I'm at the hatch. Everyone out now!"

The rest of the team scrambled out of the water-logged shaft, rushing to close the hatch before the ocean came to the surface. When the metal covering was tightly secure, the six marine let out a sigh of relief.

"Fuck, that was close." Hare said breathlessly.

Gant looked around. They were in a small building with no windows, but a light bulb burned from the ceiling, throwing the tiny space into the light. On one wall, there was a picture of the six scientists who had perished in the S.A.L. The rest of the walls were bare.

"I'm going to have to check everyone out." Princeton said suddenly. "I want to make sure no one had any injuries."

Schofield nodded. "When we get back to Hawk, you can give us all a check-up." He smiled.

Curry, meanwhile, had gone to the door of the building and thrown it open. Rebound joined him.

"Where do you think we are?" Rebound shrugged before leaning against the doorframe. "What do you think we're going to do after we get back?" Curry asked.

Rebound looked at the man with raised eyebrows, but with a frightening look on his face. "I don't know about you, but I plan to find the assholes who killed Mother and bust a few fuckin' caps in their sorry asses." He grimaced, narrowing his eyes.

            Curry nodded. "I know I didn't get to know Mother for very long, but she seemed like an amazing person."

            Rebound looked at him and smiled. "Yeah, she really was."

            Meanwhile, Schofield was contacting Andrew Trent, trying to determine their location.

            "I think we're about a mile inland from where the lab is. Do you think you can grab the truck and pick us up?"

            _And how the hell am I supposed to do that, Shane? You took the goddam truck!_

            "Aw shit. I guess we'll have to walk back to the truck and hope no one sees us." Schofield squeezed his eyes shut, disbelieving the situation they were currently in.

            _Sounds like a plan. Don't get into any messes. I don't want to have to bail you out. Over and out._

            "Smart ass." Schofield muttered, shaking his head. He turned towards the other team members, who were scattered around the tiny building. Rebound and Curry were standing at the open doorway, discussing something with grim faces. Gant was hunched over the water-logged journal, occasionally dabbing the wet pages with a towel she found. Hare and Princeton were looking at the one photo in the room of the six deceased scientists.

            He walked over to Gant and peered over her shoulder. "Find anything interesting?" He grinned when she jumped, snapping the book shut.

            "No, nope, nothing at all, Scarecrow." She cleared her throat. "So, what did you and Hawk discuss? Did you find out where we are?"

            Schofield shook his head. "Not accurately, anyway. I have a very vague idea of where we are, but not a definite location. And… this is the best part… we get to walk back to the truck!" He exclaimed with mock enthusiasm.

            Gant's mouth dropped open. "You are so fucking joking. Scarecrow, it's like 150°F out here and the truck is probably four miles away!" She narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips together. "Someone will pay for this."

            Schofield chuckled before addressing the others.

            "When I die of heat stroke, tell my next of kin that I died with valour!" Rebound joked after Schofield had finished.

            "Come on, we'd better get moving. It'll get dark soon." Hare went to the door of the building and began the four-mile trek back to the truck. The others followed.

            They arrived at the pickup a few hours later, tired and soaked with sweat. Gant wiped her forehead wearily before climbing into the driver's seat. She was about to start the ignition when she was blinded by flashing red lights.

            "What the-"

            Three beat-up cadillacs with red lights on their roofs raced towards the team of marines at an alarming speed. Suddenly, they screeched to a halt and eight men jumped out of the cars wielding machine guns. The marines automatically went for their M-16E's, but Schofield quickly stopped them.

            "Stop! Stop… what's that sound?"

            There was a loud buzzing noise, then a voice came over what was unmistakably a megaphone.

            "¡Vosotros sois bajo arresto! ¡Fuera a tu vehículo!"

            Then, in English:

            "You are under arrest! Get out of your vehicle!"

            Princeton clapped a hand to her forehead, "Ay, Dios Mio."

            Schofield motioned for everyone to step out of the truck and put their hands up.

            "Do any of you speak English?" He asked the nearest cop. The man peered at him with narrowed eyes.

            "Yes, I speak English. You are under arrest for trespassing on this land without a permit."

            Schofield sighed. "We have permission from the government to be here."

            The man hesitated for a minute before turning to another officer and conversing briefly in Spanish.

            "You are all under arrest and will be kept in jail until you produce such documents." A second officer began slapping handcuffs onto Gant and Schofield stepped forward, visibly angry.

            "Hey! You can't do that! Get those fucking things off her!" He was silenced as cold metal enclosed his wrists.

            "Uh, Scarecrow… What the hell are we going to do?" Curry asked anxiously.

            "I'll call Hawk as soon as we get to La Serena. He'll bring the documents and then they'll let us go." _I hope Schofield thought as the five marines were piled into the three police cars. Their guns were confiscated and two of the police officers drove the marine's truck behind the procession of cop cars._


	13. Part 13

Usual disclaimers apply.

ICE STATION CONTINUED

Part 13

The cell door slammed behind Hare as he was pushed into the small room along with the others.

            Schofield grabbed one of the guards through the bars. "Hey! Where's my phone call?"

            The guard wrenched his arm out of Schofield's grasp and butted him in the face with his gun. "¿Quieres más?" He said before laughing and continuing out of sight.

            Schofield grasped his face with his hands and sat down on the concrete bunk. Princeton kneeled down in front of him and gently pried his hands away from his face. He licked his lip and tasted a metallic wetness. Looking down at his hands, he saw blood.

            "That's right. You're bleeding." Princeton said sarcastically. She ripped off part of a sheet from one of the bunks and dabbed at the blood running from a gash to the right of his nose.

            "Where's my fucking phone call?" Schofield growled under his breath. He waved Princeton's hand away and went to the bars of the cell.

            "We're American citizens and we have the right to a phone call!" He yelled to no one in particular. Then he turned towards the team and sighed. "They're going to let us rot in here for nothing." He sat back down on the bunk and leaned against the cool wall. After a few minutes, he sprang back up and exclaimed, "Okay, so they're not giving us our phone call yet, so we try and figure out how all these clues fit together."

            The rest of the marines looked confused.

            "Sir, what the hell are you talking about?" Rebound asked with raised eyebrows.

            Schofield sat back down on the bunk after pacing for a couple of minutes. "Why was the _Constitution torpedoed? What do those two dates in that journal have in common and what the fuck do the Japanese have to do with this?" His eyes were alight with excitement and the rest of the team slowly began to share that feeling._

            "Obviously, the Japanese have a sub patrolling those waters… but, the question is why? There's nothing out there of interest to the military." Hare inputted.

            "Maybe they just like blowing people up." Princeton said cynically.

            "Or maybe they're testing something." Gant spoke the first time since they were arrested.

            "That's what I was thinking." Schofield nodded as he glanced at her. "Those dates in the journal coincide somehow. Fox, do you still have it with you?"

            She shook her head. "They took it, too. Obviously thinking I had a weapon concealed in it." She rolled her eyes.

            "Damn. We need that journal." Schofield put his head in his hands.

            "Oh… so _now we need it, even though not two hours ago you were talking about leaving it in the lab." Gant couldn't believe her ears._

            Schofield looked up at her, amused. "That's right. Can't I change my mind?" She was annoyed at the wide grin on his face.

            "What about 'It's not worth your life, Fox' and 'I'm not going to take that risk'?"

            His face suddenly grew serious. "That still stands. No one should risk their lives for something so small." He turned to look at the others. "That goes for everyone." He looked back at Gant, another smile starting. "But… since you _did_ get the journal, I was just saying that it would have come in useful right now."

            Gant threw her hands up in the air, frustrated.

            "What will we do when we get back to Washington?" Rebound asked after settling onto another bunk.

            Schofield pondered the thought for a moment. "Well, I guess we try to gather some info on serviceable Japanese subs. Where they patrol and when. We'll probably have to talk to the FBI or CIA about this so that they may be able to get an agent over there. It just depends on how big this thing turns out to be."

            "Enjoying your stay so far?" A heavily-accented voice cut into Schofield's plan. The marines turned and saw a well-dressed man with dark skin and hair standing with a cell phone in his hand.

            "Who are you?"

            "Chief of police, Marco Gomez. I hear you have been demanding a phone call, so here it is. I advise you to call a lawyer."

            "Why are we in here?"

            "You have trespassed on government soil."

            "But we have the documents."

            "Then I suggest you get them before we leave you here to rot." Gomez smiled, his white teeth glinting in the pale prison light.

            Schofield took the cell phone and dialed Andrew Trent.

            "Where the hell have you been?" I've been this close to packing up and-"

            "Save it, Hawk. We're in the jail in La Serena. Can you get our documents that allow us on government soil and get them here so they can release us?"

            "Yes, I can. I'll call a local taxi service."

            Schofield thanked him gratefully. Hanging up the phone, he turned towards the others. "Time to go home."

            It took Trent a little bit longer than expected to arrive, but he arrived nonetheless.

            "Okay, you can go. Lo siento, amigos. Our apologies to your country." Gomez repeated as the marines found their truck. Schofield nodded, pretending to understand before the truck pulled away from the jail.

            "Let's never do that again." Princeton exclaimed.

            Trent glanced over at Schofield while he was driving. "What happened to your face?"

            "Overly enthusiastic guard." Schofield replied, gritting his teeth.

            The compound was just as they had left it. The seven of them packed up their equipment and piled it into the truck before eating a bite of dinner.

            "Scarecrow, I'm sorry about Mother." Hawk broke the long, uncomfortable silence. Schofield was sitting at the table, staring at his plate with a glazed look in his eyes. At Hawk's words, he dropped his fork and closed his eyes briefly.

            "All I keep thinking about is how I'm going to break it to her daughter." He put a weary hand to his face and sighed deeply. "God, she had a lot of strength… and she never gave up. Ever." He cleared his throat quickly as his voice began to shake. Something warm and soft clasped his free hand and he looked to see Gant squeezing it in support.

            "I'll come with you, Scarecrow." She said confidently.

            "Me, too." Rebound murmured. The loss seemed to hit him the hardest.

            "We'll all tell her family together because we're a team." Hare added while Princeton and Curry nodded.

            Schofield gave Gant's hand a return squeeze.

            "You guys are a great team."

            "Our flight leaves tomorrow morning at 1130 hours, so sleep in… rest up." Schofield said wearily as the team prepared to sleep.

            The lights were turned out, but there was a bright light from the moon filtering in through a tiny window in one of the walls.

            Schofield lay in his bunk, surrounded by the sounds of deep breathing. When he was sure everyone was asleep, he got back up and went into the small office at the front of the building. Taking out a piece of notepaper, he began writing:

            _Dear Mr. and Mrs. Newman,_

_            I regret to inform you that your daughter, Gena, call sign "Mother" was killed in action._

            Schofield stopped, unable to put down in words what he was feeling.

            _She is irreplaceable on the team and nobody who has met her will ever forget her wonderful and energetic spirit._

            Again, he stopped, unsure of the next lines. Flashbacks of the funerals for Snake, Montana, Samurai, Ratman, Santa Cruz, Legs, Hollywood and Book popped into his mind. He had relied on his teammates for support then, just as he was doing now. He stood and walked to the door. Holding it open, he stared at the moon and thought about his abilities.

            He admitted that though it seemed he was good at getting the team out of sticky situations, he was even better at getting them into trouble.

            He thought of all the men who had died underneath his leadership. Innocent or not, it was he was responsible for them… for their deaths.

            "Couldn't sleep either?" A voice from behind him made him jump.

            Without turning to see who it was, he replied, "Not a wink. What are you doing up?"

            There was a shuffle and Gant appeared at his side.

            "Well, seeing as our own Lieutenant Commander is haunted by ghosts, I didn't think I could sleep. Plus, it's strange having two extra bunks."

            "You really should get some sleep." Schofield replied simply.

            She turned towards him and glanced at his appearance. "I should say the same for you. You look terrible."

            He snapped then. "Well can you fucking blame me?" He walked outside and kicked the scorched ground, sending dust flying.

            "Everyone on our team except you, Rebound, Mother and I were killed at Wilkes. Two killed by their own teammates! It wouldn't have happened if I had been more cautious. Now Mother is dead because of me. I can't handle it. Too many people have died on my account." He collapsed on the ground and put his head in his hands.

            "Are you giving up?" Gant asked acidly.

            The anger in her voice made Schofield look up. He didn't answer.

            "The fact that you're even debating my question makes you a coward." She turned away from him and walked back to the building.

            He jumped up and barred her path. "What do you want me to do, huh? Pretend it never happened? I'm responsible for the deaths of ten people! Almost eleven! The fact that you were shot under my leadership isn't exactly comforting either."

            "Wake up, Scarecrow. Those deaths were not your fault. What? You think you could have prevented attacks by the French and the SAS by passing the mission on to someone else? It still would have happened. We might have been sent on a deadlier mission where all of us were killed." She put her hand on his arm and said softly, "We all believe in you, Shane, you just have to learn to believe in yourself."

            He looked into her eyes. "I'm not sure what I would have done if you had been killed. If we're going to get through this, everyone is going to have to support each other."

            She smiled. "Did you expect anything less?"

            He returned the smile before looking up at the moon. "What should I do, Fox? Replace Mother or go into the next mission with seven marines?"

            "Do whatever feels right."

            He grinned and looked at her. "What feels right…" He shook his head, his smile fading slowly. "If only it were that simple."


	14. Part 14

Usual disclaimers apply.

Author's Note: To those of you dedicated fans of this story (rhnsz, coffeecrzy88, iluvharry, beep…bop, DavyCopperfield, missy-h, DarkGenie, LukeSkywalka:), YellowCard, Anononline, JamesDean, AngelDarkness, SarahSmashie, Goodfriend, SchofieldFan, Busted, Incensio Lady, Kestral, dark1, A.J9), thanks for your patience with my utter incompetence at getting this finished. I've been having issues with time management and trying to get it switched from hand-written notes to the computer. I haven't actually finished the story yet (eep), but I will… eventually… hopefully sooner rather than later. Thank you all so much for reviewing, it made me get off my ass and realize people actually like this.

ICE STATION CONTINUED

Part 14

Thirty-six hours later, the team met in Schofield's office in USMC headquarters. There was a slim, dark-haired woman sitting in a chair to the side that everyone, but Princeton failed to notice.

"This is Abby King of the FBI. She's going to help us investigate the incident in Chile." Schofield replied after Princeton asked about her.

"Actually," King added as she got up from her chair, "I'm heading up a small team of special investigators who are looking into this catastrophe/ You guys can help by telling us about those radio broadcasts that you heard, but we'll deal with that later."

Rebound knew that he would probably be that one to supple that information, seeing as it was he who understood the messages. He took a long, hard look at Abby King. She had shoulder-length black hair and blue eyes. He judged her to be in her late 20s. She was very good-looking and he hoped she hadn't got word of his nickname.

"We'll have to reconvene later in the day as we have some business to attend to." Schofield's voice cut through Rebound's appraisal. King shook everyone's hand before leaving. Rebound watched her leave.

"I've made a decision about informing Mother's ex-husband and her daughter about her death." Schofield began, "I think I'd rather go alone." On seeing his marines' confused looks, he added, "It's less personal if there are seven people there. It will be better if it's just one-on-one." Gant and Rebound made to protest, but he cut them off, "I'm going alone. You are all dismissed."

Five of the marines nodded and left. Schofield sat down at his desk without looking up and glanced through some briefings in a folder before he sensed another person in the room. He glanced up and sighed, shaking his head.

"I already told you, Fox… I'm going alone."

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

Schofield's eyes hardened slightly. "Denied. I'm sorry, but I've dismissed you. That's an order. Now if you don't mind Fox, I have to go inform someone's six-year-old daughter that her mother died in a 'routine exercise' off the coast of Chile." He got up and started to put on his jacket.

"What? What do you mean 'routine exercise'?" Gant took the folder off his desk and flipped through it quickly before stopping to scan a press release. "You've got to be kidding me." She muttered.

Schofield took the folder out of her hands and put it back on the desk. He reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a folded American flag and what appeared to be a G.I. Joe doll.

"Uh, sir-"

"Now is not the time, Fox. You are dismissed. That is final. Goodbye." He didn't wait for her to move. Instead, he threw open the door and strode out.

Gant's mouth dropped open at his attitude. He was still blaming himself for all the deaths at Wilkes, even though he had told her that he was relatively alright.

"What a hypocrite," She said under her breath. He was pushing her away just after he had stated that he needed her support.

Instead of leaving, Gant wandered around his office, noticing that it was devoid of any personal belongings. There was a small picture of Schofield's mother and father on his desk, but other than that there was nothing… or so it seemed.

She came across a small safe hidden behind a few large books on a shelf. She grinned widely, knowing that she could crack it due to some lessons from her slightly rebellious older brother when she was young.

The last number clicked and she prised the door open. Inside were a number of documents, pictures, small objects that most likely held some sort of significance for Schofield.

There was a picture of him when he had just entered the armed forces, free of his sunglasses.

_So his eyes really are blue_. Gant smiled.

There were a few more pictures of his early flying days, when he was less serious and had a smile on his face for most of them.

Then she came across an old team photo from what appeared to be the early to mid-90s. Schofield has circled one woman's head with a thick red marker. She also found a picture of the team from last year and saw a similar mark around her head in the same colour. She found herself panicking, wondering if she was about to be picked off bu some sniper involved in a complex triangle of deceit.

There was another copy of the photo stapled to the back and Gant winced. Schofield had put large X's over the faces of the team members who had died at Wilkes. Yet another photo, taken just weeks previously of the four Wilkes survivors and Schofield had ripped Mother out of the photo completely.

Gant stuffed everything back in the safe, not wanting to see any more, or know what was going on in Schofield's head.

As she was leaving, she almost collided with a man in a uniform.

"Sorry," She looked up at his face and smiled, "I didn't see you there."

He smiled back before replying, "That's okay." He continued walking down the hallway. Gant turned away, just realizing he was wearing a pilot's uniform. What she didn't realize was that he was turning around to glance at her every ten seconds as he walked down the hallway.

"I'm just going to ask you a few questions… okay, I'm lying. I'm going to ask you a lot of questions, but you are the only one who heard the transmission that could translate it." Abby King addressed Rebound as he sat in a large chair in front of her desk.

"Okay, shoot." He grinned, but stopped as he saw her serious face. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

King glanced at him questioningly, then began the interrogation.

"Please state your name."

"Robert Simmons."

She gave him an amused smile.

"I see your call sign is 'Rebound' – believe me, you don't need to explain," She said quickly, as he opened his mouth to do just that, "you were in the S.A.L. on July 6th?"

"Yes, I was." Rebound replied in a serious tone.

"And you head a radio transmission in what sounded like Japanese?"

"No."

Her face showed her surprise.

"No? – but you said - "

"It didn't _sound like_ Japanese. It_ was_ Japanese. Believe me, I grew up with a Japanese aunt, not by blood of course, but she married my mother's - "

"Okay, okay, I get it. It was Japanese," She shook her head, "Now what was the subject of this transmission?"

"It basically said that they had released a torpedo and the next thing we knew, our two teammates on the surface were blown to bits!" His voice rose as he spoke, still angry about what had happened.

"And where do you think this torpedo came from?"

He paused before answering confidently,

"Had to be a submarine. Though I don't know many that can stick around for three to four weeks about 1000 miles from their country's base. Another thing I don't understand is-"

"Sorry, Corporal, we're here to discuss what you _do_ understand," She cut him off abruptly, "It came from a submarine. Did they happen to mention the name of the submarine?"

Rebound racked his brain for a few moments, but all he could think about were those seconds where they lost contact with Mother and he realized she was dead.

"I… I'm sorry… I can't – I can't remember."

She sighed, showing her dismay, then she recovered.

"That's alright. Take all the time you need. You can contact me here if you remember anything. You're free to go, Corporal." She stood up and shook his hand, and he left in a daze. She was very business-like. He figured it was such a shock to him because he was always around laid-back soldiers all day.

He was also surprised by her obvious dislike of him. She kept cutting him off and frowning. He hoped he'd never have to talk to her again.


End file.
